Tk 820m elderly care project struggles to accommodate senior citizens

A Tk 820 million residential project intended to serve elderly persons across eight cities is grappling with insufficient space to accommodate the growing number of beneficiaries seeking admission, according to officials overseeing the initiative. The scheme, known as Shanti Nibash, was launched to provide dignified living arrangements for senior citizens in multiple locations but has struggled to match its infrastructure with actual demand.

The shortage of available spaces has created a bottleneck in the admission process, leaving eligible applicants on waiting lists as existing facilities operate near or at full capacity. Officials have attributed the constraint to higher-than-anticipated applications and the challenges of expanding infrastructure rapidly across multiple urban centers simultaneously.

The project's difficulties underscore broader concerns about elderly care provisions in the country, where demographic shifts are increasing the population of senior citizens requiring residential support. Experts have called for a comprehensive review of capacity planning in similar welfare initiatives to prevent future shortfalls.

Authorities managing the Shanti Nibash scheme have indicated that efforts are underway to address the gap, though specific timelines and additional funding requirements remain under discussion. The situation highlights the mismatch between government planning and real-world implementation challenges in large-scale social welfare programs.