A three-decade old institution, the Home was handed over to the Lion’s Club which managed it for about seven-and-a-half years. It was on October 1 2007 that the government took it back, facing much resistance from the club as well as its members. The House has in total, 28 members, 14 males and 14 females, all having seen much hardships in life.

Though there is no dearth of materialistic things, owing to the generous donations that the Home receives, it is the love and care that the members here yearn for.

Though House manager M M Sharma claims that the best of facilities are provided to the members, people here have a different story to tell.

Says one of them, “It feels humiliating to be searched every time we leave this place. It is insulting, I feel belittled by this behavior.”

Besides, all personal belongings of the inmates, including gifts from their relatives, are considered the Home’s property. “We are treated like slaves and the worst is that we have no one to complain to,” says an inmate who has been a part of the Home for long.

Two doctors visit these senior citizens on selected days for checkups, but the need to go out for tests arises often. Though there is a van to ferry the sick to the hospital, no driver has been formally appointed so far. This causes much trouble to the members here who face a tough time managing their visits to the hospitals on their own.

Most of them complain about the kind of behaviour they are subjected to. Fondly recalling the Lion’s club staff, they feel that the present manager subjects them to crulty.

Though praises for Amandeep Kaur, Director of the Social Welfare Department, it is Sharma they blame for the conditions they live in.

Members allege that the even the cleaners do not attend to them on a regular basis due to shortage of full-time staff.