Home for oldies
Sir,
I am greatly pleased to
find that my old bosom friend, Mr O P Modi, has flowered
into a capable journalist, as is evident from his
article, ''All they want is a home to live in'',
Excelsior dated Oct. 15, 2000, in which he has thrown
light on the real and pathetic, rather shocking,
condition of the old citizens. It is sad that their kith
and kin, instead of giving solace to them in their
helplessness, harass them with their criticism and a
harangue to them on adjustment with the younger people.
It is the duty of the young to adjust to the old, who
have in their heyday held positions of distinctions, are
experienced and knowledgeable. In this connection I would
request Mr Modi to peruse my article ''Swan Song-the art
of dying gracefully'', published in the columns of this
esteemed paper on June II, 2000.
The suggestions offered by
Mr Modi are quite practicable. The government can do
nothing to solve this baffling problem of the old, as it
is suffering from a chronic illness of tardiness. It is
for some philanthropist organisation, a business magnate
or an enterprising man to come forward and establish
Homes and colonies for the old citizens. They will,
besides, doing a humane work, derive monetary gain for
themselves.
Yours etc...
Professor Somnath Wakhlu
E-I, Regional Research
Laboratory Colony, Jammu.
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Provide water, electricity
Sir,
Both water and electricity
are basic needs of human being but inspite of incurring
billions of rupees on the schemes after independence by
the popular Government in order to regulate uninterrupted
supply to the people, the condition has become from bad
to worse due to the reasons that there is rampant
corruption from top to bottom and hardly about 10 percent
of the amount is utilised on these schemes and rest is
shared by the concerned, and in most of the cases not
even a single peny of the grant is utilised but showing
the same incurred in papers whole of the amount goes in
the pocket of the concerned. This is not happening only
in PHE or Electric Departments but in all other works and
non works departments where funds other than salaries are
allotted and incurred by showing the same utilised on
different schemes only on papers. There were days when
water was supplied two times in a day i.e. morning and
evening at a fixed time but now it is supplied one time
in aday or even on alternate days and that too of poor
quality and quantity. Further, it will not be out of
place to mention here that in most of the cases it takes
half an hour to fill a bucket from a tap of one and half
ft height whereas in some case, the water of the tap goes
to the top of the roof of house which is technique of the
departmental plumber who gives connection of the taps to
concerned and this also itself speaks about the
distribution system of water by the department. Besides,
there are about 40 percent illegal connections of taps
though issued by the department hands but does not exist
in their records thus depriving the department of revenue
and also resulting in lower pressure of water in the
legal taps which is another addition to the woes of the
people. Similar is the position of electricity as there
is every year hike in the tarrif but on the other hand
there are curtailments schedules announced one after
another. This is not happening only in respect of water
and electricity but also in other amenities of life as
our politicians, whosoever, comes in power, instead of
doing something for welfare of the countrymen remains
busy in raising their own and their relatives living
standards which is quite evident from conviction of
former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and former Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalitha recently in JMM
bribery and TANSI land cases respectively.
Yours etc...
B L Balwal
Udhampur.
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