The death of a 74-year-old retired headteacher, whose body was found  in a decomposed state at her isolated residence near Purameri in Kozhikode district of Kerala after remaining unnoticed for nearly five days, has once again exposed the vulnerability of elderly population living alone and the gradual collapse of community policing initiatives once intended to safeguard them.

Pushpavally was found dead at her house after a local resident happened to visit the residence on May 2 when she had not been seen for several days. Based on medical reports, the police later confirmed that the death happened around five days earlier. 

“The incident has revived our concerns over the weakening Janamaithri policing network and the discontinuation of several welfare-oriented schemes for people living alone,” says a retired police officer from Vadakara expressing disappointment over the situation. Special patrol and monitoring systems in isolated urban and rural residential areas, once active under Janamaithri schemes, are no longer functioning under any police station, he laments.

Officers who were once part of the project launched in 2008 reveal that insufficient government funding has severely affected the field activities of the scheme. For the past several years, many police stations are carrying out only nominal activities without any fresh projects or reviving schemes that were dropped midway, they observe.

Transfer of officers

“Only very few stations now continue beat patrolling in a serious manner and periodic review meetings with local communities. Residents’ associations, once considered the backbone of the community policing network, are hardly associated with any live activities now,” says a residents’ association functionary from Karaparamba. He points out that the transfer of some of the active officers also has affected the coordination work.

Local body members who were part of the project in the past say many innovative schemes that once brought laurels to the police community have either slowed down or disappeared altogether. The tribal Janamaithri programme, which covered nearly 15 tribal settlements in rural Kozhikode is no longer functioning as originally envisioned. It had come to the benefit of many elderly tribespeople, they point out.  

“A much appreciated component of the project had been its focus on elderly people in isolated residential areas. There were periodic house visits, emergency contact systems and neighbourhood surveillance measures,” recalls a former Station House Officer who coordinated the schemes in Kozhikode city. ‘Bell of Faith,’ one of the innovative projects, even offered remote control alarm devices to elderly persons staying alone so they can alert police or neighbours during emergencies, he points out.

Members of various senior citizens’ forums in Kozhikode district say they are struggling to maintain proper liaison with senior police officers to take forward their demands in the area. At the same time, a senior police officer associated with the outreach programmes clarifies that proposals can again be submitted to the new government seeking the possibilities to revamp the important schemes. The local residents’ forums and social organisations have a big role to push for the same, he notes.