Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Jun 03, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Jun 03, 2002 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Agriculture Elderly hit by agri price fall Aravindan
KOTTAYAM, June 2 THE sharp price fall in the agricultural sector and unemployment among the youth has had a cascading effect on the well-being of the elderly, according to a recent study. The study, jointly conducted by the Amballur Panchayat and the Kanjiramattam Senior Citizens' Forum in Ernakulam district, has found that financial security was the prime concern of senior citizens, said Mr Mukundan Menon, former Rubber Production Commissioner who was actively involved with the study, which is claimed to be the first of its kind in the State. It was found that some of them could avert poverty and lead an average life with the assistance given by the State and Central Governments through panchayats and other sources. Civic bodies could make a big difference to the living standards of the elderly, the study said. With improvement in health and service sectors, the life expectancy has gone up and the number of people in the age group of 60 and above has increased all over the world. Their number has doubled in India in the last 25 years. According to 1991 census, the number of old-age people exceeded 5.7 crore and they formed 6.9 per cent of the total population. The study highlighted the lapses in the provisions made by the Government for the welfare of the elderly. Though the Government policies are sound at the implementation stage, the assistance either gets delayed or paralysed without reaching the beneficiary, it said. People in the age group of 60 and above in Ambler Pinhead limits were been included in the study. Data was collected from 2,793 elders living in 12 wards. The Senior Citizens' Forum of Kanjiramattam conducted the survey. Similar to the State average, the literacy percentage was satisfactory in the areas under study. Only 24 per cent were illiterate. While illiteracy is 37 per cent among women, it is only nine per cent among males. Sixty-nine per cent owned houses and 15 per cent lived with their spouses. An interesting feature is that nobody was found homeless. Thirty-four per cent had telephone connections. The livelihood of the entire area is based on agriculture. Unorganised farming in small patches of land is the main occupation of the people in the villages. The report will be formally released by Mr Justice K.K. Narendran at Arayankavu on Wednesday.
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