Less than two years since it was rolled out, Elder Line, a national helpline for the elderly (14567), is a shadow of its former self in Kerala.
Run by the Social Justice department in the State, the helpline is functioning with less than one-thirds of its initial staff strength for the past two months. The existing staff and those who had been asked to keep away have not been paid since April.
It was through a communication from the National Institute of Social Defence to the heads of Elder Line-implementing organisations on June 30 that the staff got to know that the helpline services would be maintained with minimal staff with effect from July 1 till the completion of agreement renewal for the 2023-25 period or September 30 to which date the agreement has been temporarily extended.
