Hawzah News Agency –As hundreds of homeless and abandoned people are suffering due to severe winter weather that is currently sweeping the state, a mosque in Rajendranagar, in collaboration with Helping Hand Foundation, has set up a 40-bed home for the aged and destitute.

This first-of-its-kind shelter for the abandoned people, which was officially launched on Tuesday, will have round-the-clock doctor’s attention, nursing and bedside care along with physiotherapy, dietician, support staff and ambulance services. The facility will deal will with 70 per cent geriatric cases and 30 per cent other destitute and abandoned people.

A clinical psychologist will also be available to counsel and help the patients fight stress. This facility, which is one of the few non-governmental centres to offer free services to the homeless and destitute regardless of their caste or faith, aims to maintain high standards of hygiene and sanitation. An in-house kitchen, being run under the supervision of a clinical nutritionist, will provide healthy and hygienic food for the patients.

Participating in the launch ceremony, AK Khan, IPS (Retd), advisor to Telangana government on minority affairs, said: “With life expectancy increasing in India and families shrinking, old age care is assuming significance like in the west. It is good to see civil society organisations coming forward to passionately address the needs of senior citizens.”