kolkata several housing committees and block associations in new town are organizing programmes for elderly citizens so they can combat the fear of covid and interact with others their age who have successfully fought the virus at shukhobrishti in new towns action area iii which has close to 1500 apartments residents have formed a volunteer force to assist senior citizens in the complex most elderly residents are confined to their homes since the outbreak and this has affected their quality of life many of them have even been cut off from their families this has instilled fear of the virus in them and confused them we want them to be cautious not scared our volunteers chat with the seniors and organize online activities so that they dont get bored and have something to look forward too said mainak kanrar a joint secretary of the residents association these interactions are helping them overcome their fears and resume limited activities with all safety precautions in place he added at ce block in new town residents organized a gettogether for 40odd senior citizens in the block for mahalaya on thursday among them were some who have defeated covid or dengue they met for an adda around songs and poetry recitals as well as tea and refreshments since senior citizens are considered to be at high risk of contracting covid most of them have been staying indoors stepping out occasionally for emergencies many of them had not interacted with friends of their age for over six months we thought mahalaya was an auspicious occasion to bring them together we are planning many more events like these in the run up to durga puja however we will have all the safety measures in place according to guidelines said samir gupta joint convenor of new town residents welfare forum and a resident of ce block debabrata ghosal 62 a resident of a complex in action area iii who had only stepped out twice since march was elated to meet and hang out with his friends in the garden of their complex on thursday i am retired and my social life revolved around my friends whom i met on my morning and evening walks we even had a club which organized several activities but since march we have been imprisoned in our homes these small adda sessions with all safety precautions in place will help us fight our fear of the virus said ghosal