New Delhi, Apr 30 (IANS): The Delhi government on Thursday made '1077' the Covid-19 helpline number for senior citizens in the national capital.

Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev in his capacity as the Chairperson, Delhi State Executive Committee, directed that the 1077 helpline of the Delhi Revenue Department "shall also function as the helpline for senior citizens for Covid-19".

In an order, Dev said the Deputy Commissioner (HQ) will be responsible for efficient functioning of the helpline on a 24x7 basis.

"The Principal Secretary is directed to give adequate publicity of the said helpline number in the newspapers and on social media. Further, SIO, NIC, shall create an online application on an urgent basis for capturing the requests and grievances of the senior citizens and sending the same to the District Magistrate concerned," Dev said in the order.

The online application must also provide for SMS acknowledgement to the senior citizens concerned and SMS alert to the District Magistrate concerned and his nodal officer.

"Furthermore, all District Magistrates shall appoint a nodal officer at the district level for this purpose who shall ensure that all the grievances are attended to by the department concerned at the district level and send a feedback on the online application for record and onward information to the senior citizen," he said in the order.

Citing an order from the Delhi High Court dated April 22, Dev said it was observed that a dedicated helpline has not been set up by the Delhi government for the senior citizens just as the Delhi Police have done.

"The government had assured the court that a dedicated helpline shall be activated within two days and adequate publicity of the said helpline number shall be given in the newspapers and on social media to ensure that the information is disseminated among all concerned," Dev said.