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No care for elderly

Apropos the article “Caring for the elderly” by Rajesh Gill, I would like to add that the welfare schemes for the elderly are but a fluke, a mockery of their misery. The government expects an old man, dejected and already in grip of diseases to be satisfied by a meagre sum. Not all people enter their sixties with pension flowing into their accounts. A poor labourer ridden with diseases looks up to his family to take care of him but they are already having a hard time feeding themselves. Then government comes to his rescue: it gives him little help and pats itself on the back for taking care of the elderly. PM Modi says development is the key to success, but what is a metro, an e-library, indigenous weaponry to a man dying, because he can't afford to keep himself alive? The PM's development model never considered the elderly for what’s their use to him? One of the biggest reasons children abandon parents in old age is because they can't afford the healthcare. This country needs immediate health sector reforms, so that the elderly can lead their lives with ease. If healthcare for the elderly was to be made free, most of the problems would be solved.

TEJVEER PANNU, Pathankot

Detach in old age

Thank you for the useful article “Caring for the elderly, the give and take” by Rajesh Gill (July 10). I would like to emphasise upon the need to let go of the craving for money in old age. If we have planned our finances well, we should be able to live comfortably with pension and investments as senior citizens. We must work for as long as we can since it is good for health and happiness. But this work should be related more to doing what we enjoy and not to mainly make more money. Our main goal should be happiness. This comes with detachment, not attachment, with wealth and things material.

Col RD Singh (retd), Ambala Cantt

Seniors abused

The article enables the readers to relate to the condition of the elderly in their family. I have seen families where the children who are staying abroad, ask their parents to sell properties and send them money. It reminds me of a friend who is disturbed by her demanding mother-in-law, who would tell her to eat, dress, speak and even laugh as per her instructions. She has been given Rs 2 lakh by her father to buy furniture, but the mother-in-law does not let her buy what she wishes. In another instance, my pregnant friend does not want her mother-in-law to come and help her during the pregnancy because she feels suffocated when her mother-in-law makes impositions on eating and drinking milk and even tells her when to relax. The article is correct in pointing out that the aged alone are not vulnerable.

Puneet Kaur Grewal, Chandigarh

IT returns & email

Filing tax returns through e-mail is a good step for the department to reaching the assessees directly by. but is not feasable, practicable for small assessees with income between Rs 2 lakh and 3 lakh, including small shopkeepers, fruit and vegetable vendors etc. They do not know English nor do they have computers/laptops.

The email system should be mandatary only for assessees with incomes above Rs 4 or 5 lakh. The CBDT should look into the matter and make suitable amendments. Some assesses may not file their returns to avoid this hazard of email id, making the government the loser.

Ramesh Chopra, via email

HP slips

This refers to news report “State slips out of top 10 tally” (July 7). Himachal Pradesh is a beautiful state bestowed with natural scenes, mountains, falls, lakes, rivers etc. The state is also free from law and order problem, unlike J& K. But the government has failed to provide adequate facilities to the tourists. Roads are in a very bad condition, no information system has been devised, resulting in man-made disasters like the Larji Project incident in which 24 students were washed away. These are some of the factors responsible for the reduction in tourism in the state.

The slow pace of development of infrastructure such as road, rail and air connectivity is the other major drawback for the development of the tourism industry in the state. The politicians seem to have no time to spare for such things.

BR Kaundal, Mandi

Save water

We waste so much water daily that it has lead to a crisis situation. We all are not only wasting water but also polluting it. There is need for a balanced planning to ensure sustainability of water and life.

Ketan Sharma, via email

Not error-free

The Tribune is very dear to me as I have been reading it for more than 50 years. It was said in our college days that the detection of an error in it earned a reward of Rs 100. I am pained to find some errors in it from time to time. Even the editorial page is not free of them. For example, both the editorials on July 15 contain an error each. In “Germany win a thriller”, the transitive verb ‘denied’ required an object (para 1, line 8). In “Babus give govt a bad name?”, ‘kept quite’ has been used instead of ‘kept quiet’.

In the article “Budgets realistic and sensible” , ‘complied’ has been written instead of ‘compiled’ (para 3, line 2).

In the Middle “Nothing is ever lasting”, articles are missing at two places — ‘with passerby’ instead of ‘with a passerby’ (para 3, line 4) and ‘pair of Latin words’ instead of ‘the pair of Latin words’ (para 6, line 4).

In the heading of the lead report from Jammu & Kashmir (page 13), the metaphorical use of the word ‘stare’ (‘State stares at financial crisis .....’ ) is clearly inverted. It should have been ‘Financial crisis stares at the state’.

Prof Basant S. Brar, Bathinda

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