APSCCON Uniting Senior Citizens in Andhra Pradesh (All marginalized and neglected sections of Society get together to protect

themselves and fight for their welfare. Senior Citizens are no exception. The story of Elders uniting for a common cause in Andhra Pradesh is narrated) Kofi Annan told a delegation of American Association of Retired Persons bluntly that they will continue to be ignored and marginalized in spite of their numbers, collective experience and time tested wisdom, unless they unite. If that is true worlds largest Retirees Organization having nearly 40 million members, what should we think about ourselves in India? Senior Citizens in India are neglected by the government, politicians, corporate sector, religious heads, children / wards and other sections of the society. The extent to which Senior Citizens are ignored by the Government is evident from the fact that out of 28 States only eight have so far adopted the National Policy on Older Persons [NPOP] declared by the Government of India a decade ago in 1999. In the case of Maintenance of Parents and Senior Citizens Act passed by the Parliament in December 2007, only eleven States have accepted and notified the same. This gross neglect of Senior Citizens is happening only because they are not united and are not able to assert themselves. Realizing this, Senior Citizens in Andhra Pradesh have come together under one umbrella called Andhra Pradesh Senior Citizens Confederation. A meeting in Jaipur in Oct 2007 sowed the seed and within six months APSCCON was born. It was formally launched in Vijayawada during October 2008, in a massive event attended by nearly 1000 delegates from all over AP. Some of the eminent personalities behind this unifying effort include Sri RN Mital (Hyderabad) Sri KR Gangadharan (Hyderabad), Sri JP Venkatewarlu (Guntur), Dr SR Rao (Hyderabad), Sri K Singaiah (Vijayawada), Sri Ramakrishna (Tanuku) and Sri Venkata Reddy (Kurnool). APSCCON is organized into seven zones as follows: Zone Zone-1 Zone-2 Zone-3 Zone-4 Zone-5 Zone-6 Zone-7 Districts of Vishakapatanam, Vijaynagaram, Srikakulam E.Godavari, W.Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore Kurnool, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Anantapur Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar Nalgonda, Mahboobnagar, Khammam, Warangal Medak, Rangareddy, Greater Hyderabad

In Hyderabad alone there are sixty Senior Citizens Associations. Presently APSCCON has a membership representing more than 10000 senior citizens represented by every district of AP. There are about 300 Senior Citizens Associations in AP. APSCCON is now the recognized apex body to talk to State and Central Government authorities with a single voice. Some of the important issues being taken up on priority basis include: Old Age Pension, Health Insurance for Senior Citizens, Concessions in travel, Third Age Learning and easy access to public places. A monthly newsletter called Blazing Twilight (what an oxymoron!) is published for disseminating information on the activities of the Confederation. APSCCON gains strength by joining hands with All India Senior Citizens Confederation (AISCCON), local government departments like the Dept of Social Welfare, Department of Rural Development, Department of Health, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation -- Senior Citizens Cell etc. Within a short time, APSCCON has gained support from the State Government. Their representatives are in Grants-in-aid committee for Old Age Homes and State Council of Older Persons. Several advocacy meetings have been held with senior government officials including the Chief Minister. The Federation has constituted a Science Panel to promote research on ageing issues. As a part of this, a series of monthly lectures on various topics of interest to Elders has been organized. This lecture program also fits into the Third Age Learning activity. APPSCON has tried to interest political parties to include the concerns of older people in the Partys Election manifestos. Only BJP has made a passing mention. All other parties are yet to wake up. In course time let us hope this unity pays dividends yearned for by the founding fathers of the confederation. ===================