the social security cell of the crime branch is the nodal authority which maintains records and has a dialogue with them pune an initiative launched by the pune police for senior citizens in the city is beset with sluggishness senior citizen dhananjay joshi from kalyaninagar said i have not registered my name with the police as yet the initiative was first launched in 2007 by then police commissioner jayant umranikar senior citizens are scared that their personal details given to the police may be misused constables visit the elderly citizens and identify their issues like unavailability of gas cylinders and payment of electricity bills and the helpline coordinated with them they feel that neighbours would gossip about a policeman doing regular rounds and home visits he said considering the 55 lakh population in pune and pimprichinchwad the poor figures reflect a cold response to the initiative a survey by the pune police in november 2015 revealed that of a large senior citizen population less than 9000 had registered with the police stations and had identity cards hence they hesitate to give out information after a lull over the years the pune police recently revived the plan the study also found hesitancy in registering with the police old people do not want policemen visiting them because they felt that the neighbours would think they had done something wrong the process has been initiated by the deccan gymkhana sangvi samarth shivajinagar cantonment koregaon park chatushrungi hadapsar kothrud bund garden and other police stations constables from the local police stations had visited 7370 senior citizens in november and december 2015 and wrote emails to their wards living abroad assistant commissioner of police crime there is also a lack of awareness about the benefits i live with my family and i do not feel the need ramchandra shelar senior citizen from vishrantwadi said though he had registered with the police station there were many elders in his area who had not done so out of fear of stigma police have established a rapport with 136 associations or clubs of senior citizens satish patil said so far 1153 identity cards have been distributed while 371 meetings with senior citizens have been conducted by us in different parts of the city the crime branch has decided to issue senior citizens identity cards out of a feeling of insecurity those living alone feel that their information should not go to the police anjali raje executive director of international longevity centreindia based in pune said it has a dedicated helpline and a cell for senior citizens but other senior citizens staying alone should register with the police so that they can get in touch with their kin in case of any emergency the same year a survey was conducted and a programme to register senior citizens in police stations was rolled out at each police station a subinspector has been assigned the duty of a nodal officer while two constables have been deputed to visit residences of senior