Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off four traffic interceptors and 35 motorcycles of the Senior Citizens’ Security Cells at the Commissionerate police headquarters here on Wednesday.

Patnaik also handed over a Smartphone and a bike to each police officer appointed as Nodal Officer and Assistant Nodal Officer at each senior citizens cell to deal with crimes relating to the elderly citizens. The four interceptors would be provided to police in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Brahmapur and Sambalpur.

Keeping in view the rising crimes against senior citizens in the capital city, Senior Citizens Security Cells had started operations at the Capital, Nayapalli, Kharavel Nagar, Chandrasekharpur and Shahid Nagar police stations of the Bhubaneswar Urban Police District in 2009. Now, the cells operate at all the police stations under the Commissionerate police.

Each cell is headed by an officer of the rank of Sub-Inspector, designated as the Nodal Officer. He is assisted by at least one constable. The main objectives of these security cells include coordinating the security measures for senior citizens with the help of local police, sensitising senior citizens about the different ways in which they can look after themselves, assisting them in resolving their personal problems as fast as possible, ensuring regular interactions of the local police through home visits and diligently conducting police verification of domestic helps and tenants.

Notably, according to a survey, there are more than 1.6 lakh senior citizens living in Bhubaneswar alone.