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By:

Ruddhi Phadke

22 September 2024 at 10:17:54 am

On a mission to serve the elders

Mumbaikar Leena Deosthalee finds a way to support the senior citizens through an old age home situated in Raigad Mumbai: A Mumbai resident Leena Deosthalee’s urge to serve her father in his illness has led to formation of one of the friendliest old age homes in Maharashtra - Chaitanya Jyeshtha Nagarik Sahaniwas situated at Jambhulpada in Sudhagad district of Raigad. Deosthalee, a retired banker, started this facility in 2012 to fulfil her desire to serve the elderly people as she could not do...

On a mission to serve the elders

Mumbaikar Leena Deosthalee finds a way to support the senior citizens through an old age home situated in Raigad Mumbai: A Mumbai resident Leena Deosthalee’s urge to serve her father in his illness has led to formation of one of the friendliest old age homes in Maharashtra - Chaitanya Jyeshtha Nagarik Sahaniwas situated at Jambhulpada in Sudhagad district of Raigad. Deosthalee, a retired banker, started this facility in 2012 to fulfil her desire to serve the elderly people as she could not do much for her father in his last days. “I worked for 33 years with Bank of India, from 1966 to 1999,” Deosthalee told ‘The Perfect Voice’ . “At that time my father was very old. I wished to visit him every day, but there was a time constraint. I quit my job to give him time. However, he passed away and my purpose of quitting the job was over,” she said narrating the idea behind Sahaniwas. “My husband was extremely busy. I had ample free time. By God’s grace I was financially stable. My children were well settled in their own world. Hence, I felt that it is time to give something back to society. I expressed my wish to my husband, and he supported my dream whole heartedly,” she said. Chaitanya Nagrik Sahaniwas has a capacity to accommodate 30 residents at a time. Jambhulpada is equidistant from Mumbai and Pune—approximately 100-110 km. Senior citizens who are physically independent and do not need assistance for their daily activities are given admission after they are screened and interviewed by the Trustees. Chaitanya is run by Mathura Foundation. On twin sharing basis 30 residents can be accommodated. There are other rooms for amenities such as library, medical room, dining room (with attached kitchen), recreation room which has a common T.V. and tables for playing chess, cards, carom etc. The facility has a caretaker and two resident staff members, who are on the premises all the time. Other staff members travel from the surrounding villages. The Foundation also has its own ambulance and driver, who is available on the premises 24x7. Self reliance Deosthalee said Chaitanya home is 95 per cent self-reliant as far as electricity is concerned. They have a project installed with a solar power capacity- 20 kv which has reduced their electricity expenditure to an extent that they send surplus electricity supply to the MSEB grid. “We are almost self-reliant as far as electricity is concerned. Besides, the solar water heaters keep us self-reliant for nearly nine months of the year.”They recycle the sewage water using Solid Imobilised Bio Filter (SIBF) System and alum tanks to reutilise it for sanitation and maintaining the gardens. Social serviceDeosthalee believes that she is able to overcome most of the operational hurdles without the residents feeling the pinch of it because of her sound financial background. “We are not making any profit because our objective is not to earn money. We take nominal fees from the residents and find solutions to our operational difficulties through donations and sometimes from our own pockets.”Jambhulpada has one more such old age home. Deosthalee had to open a facility at the time when there were similar facilities doing a good job in the area. However, she cited that there was no sentiment of competition and that other facilities were working for the same cause and hence she actually got a lot of guidance and help from the trustees. “They actually helped me identify what was lacking in their facility so that I could rectify their flaws in the facility I was planning to set up,” said Deosthalee.

People praise Army for protecting

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah interacts with displaced border residents at a shelter camp.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah interacts with displaced border residents at a shelter camp.

Garkhal (J&K): Men and machines of the armed forces worked meticulously to ensure the interception of Kamikaze drones and missiles fired by Pakistani troops targeting Jammu, drawing widespread appreciation from people.


India on Thursday night swiftly thwarted Pakistan's fresh attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles, including in Jammu and Pathankot, after foiling similar bids at 15 locations across the country's northern and western regions, amid a military conflict between the two neighbours.


Looking after the operational area of Jammu under the command of the 9 Corps, the 26 Infantry Division, nicknamed the "Tiger Division", had put in place a robust air-defence system, virtually carving out an Israel-type Iron Dome to protect Jammu from a Hamas-style attack by Pakistan.


An official who was privy to the developments said it was a meticulous combination of men and machines in defence that thwarted such a massive Pakistani attack.


In the dead of night, Pakistan unleashed its most audacious assault on Jammu since the 1971 war, deploying a swarm of more than a hundred Kamikaze drones and missiles in a sinister attempt to devastate the city. But what followed was a show of unmatched precision, courage and resilience.


"We are indebted to our armed forces who have saved Jammu from a major attack by Pakistan. We appreciate them for their missionary work. We never thought these bombs could be neutralised in the air," Garkhal resident Sikender Singh said.


Singh, whose family, along with more than 500 villagers, has shifted to safer camps set up by the government in Mishriwala on the Jammu outskirts, said had the bombs not been intercepted, they could have caused massive deaths and destruction.


Finest system

The Army, backed by one of the world's finest air-defence systems, intercepted the aerial barrage with astonishing accuracy -- virtually every hostile object was destroyed mid-air. Not a single vital installation was touched. Not a single civilian life was lost.


"Eight missiles from Pakistan were directed at Satwari, Samba, R S Pura and Arnia. All were intercepted and blocked by air-defence units. Visuals over Jammu reminded exactly of a Hamas-style attack on Israel, like multiple cheap rockets," an Army official said.


He said the Pakistan Army is operating and behaving like Hamas. "Drones were sighted at multiple places along the western front -- confirmed to be hostile. They are being effectively engaged by our air-defence systems. Pakistani drone attacks have been reported at various locations along the western borders and are being effectively countered by the Indian armed forces," he added.


The multi-tier air-defence system, with a twin technological security architecture of Russian and Israeli surface-to-air missile setups and the indigenous Akash, was a game changer against such attacks.


Former Jammu and Kashmir director general of police S P Vaid appreciated the armed forces and their technological security systems for effectively dealing with the Pakistani attacks.


He said 50 to 60 air attacks by Pakistan over Jammu and other places were neutralised on Thursday night by the impregnable air-defence system of the country.


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