Shamita Shetty roots for rights of elderly

Shamita Shetty, who has been associated with an NGO titled HelpAge India, has said that the government should increase pension for the elderly. She added people shouldn't forget that respecting elders has been our culture.

"I feel the elderly should get support, especially from their families because we have seen that a lot of daughters, sons, daughters-in-law and sons-in-law tend to disrespect their parents. So many times, they throw them out of the house, make them work too much, put them in old-age homes or think of them as a burden. They need to understand there is the law to protect the elderly and they shouldn't cross the line. I feel our culture teaches us to respect elders but somewhere down the line, we have forgotten that because we are trying to ape the West. We need to get back to our roots," said Shamita, while interacting with the media when she flagged off walkathon on the eve of International Day for Older Persons on Tuesday in Mumbai.

Under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, old aged person of 65 years & above belonging to BPL Family are eligible under this Scheme. Beneficiaries under this scheme receive Rs.200/- from the central government & Rs.400/- from the government of Maharashtra under Shravanbal Seva Rajya Nivrutti Vetan Yojana. In all, the beneficiary receives Rs. 600/- per month.

Sharing her feeling about the sum elderly people receive from the government, Shamita said, "I feel they should get more amount of money than what they are getting at this point of time."

Sharing her feeling on attending walkathon, Shamita said: "Last year, too, I was here to celebrate this day. I believe in this cause and therefore I feel there should be more awareness on how the older generation is treated. I feel somewhere down the line we don't give them the respect they deserve, so I try to associate myself with the NGO HelpAge India as much as possible."

She added: "I feel if each and everyone amongst us believes in a cause, takes it up and does something about it, then the world will be a better place. This is the cause I believe in and I feel I am doing great disservice to myself and the society if I am not doing something about it, so I feel really happy when I associate myself with social causes."

Talking about her upcoming project, "The Tenant", Shamita said: "I am very excited about it. Actually, I will have a release after a really long time. I think we have made a good film. It has gone to the film festivals and I think it should release soon in India."

Shamita was last seen in a web series titled "Yo Ke Hua Bro".

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