Problems of Senior Citizens in Rural areas

Following is an extract of an Email dated 26th November 2009 from Sri
Sugan Bhatia

Dear Mital Sahib and friends,

The challenges faced by senior citizens in rural areas are beginning
to receive considerable attention, particularly at the level of access
to services including healthcare through Mobile Medical Units, through
Village-, Mandal- and Zilla-level Aarogya Samitis courtesy the
National Rural Health Mission. The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and
its State level incarnations continue to underscore the need for
State-level support to health care insurance for the entire family
including the senior citizens. The Senior Citizens' pension programmes
are fairly active in the rural areas courtesy joint funding by both
the Centre and the State. Markets and Railway Stations continue to be
the main recreation centres for the senior citizens.

What is probably missing, despite a great deal of welfare action by
both the Central and State governments, is a culture of rights within
which we need to reflect on the challenges faced by the senior
citizens in the rural areas. Governance systems are gradually diluting
the entire gamut of citizens' rights that can be subsumed under the
larger umbrella of Right to Life with Dignity; the open market economy
and the immense "love" that the Governments seem to have with the
phrase and all that it stands for are helping governance systems to
usher in public-private partnership diluting in the process the
citizen's right to ask the State to provide for his/her right to life
with dignity. Governance systems appear to be "auctioning" every
"citizens' rights structure and facility" (e.g. sub-centre, Primary
Health Centre, school, hospital, etc.) to public private partnership
minimizing in the process its own obligations to the fulfillment of
citizens' rights that were earlier articulated through the concept of
Basic Minimum Needs.

The Private Sector Age Care Industry is out to spread consumerism at
heavy costs to the rural population by "coercive persuasion through
organized lobbies" asking the State to provide it support in the form
of "viability gap funding" and "affordability gap funding" for
location and provision of basic minimum needs.

Do give a thought during your discussions, if you find my blabbering meaningful.

With best wishes.

Sugan Bhatia
98112 25103
==================

________________________________
Date: Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:48:46 +0530
Subject: Seminar
From: apsccon@gmail.com
To: dnchapke@yahoo.com; jpvenkateswarlu@yahoo.com;
kamuhatti@gmail.com; ksrsl@yahoo.com; pvgk40@hotmail.com;
rao_solar@yahoo.com; drspkinj@gmail.com; rvreddy393@bsnl.in;
viswam_1932@yahoo.com; vyasamoorthy@gmail.com;
scbhatia_delhi@hotmail.com; telikicherla1936@yahoo.co.in;
narasimhan_venkataraman@yahoo.co.in;
venkatasubbarao.telikicherla@gmail.com; ykmoorthy@gmail.com;
myechury@yahoo.com; cheyuta@gmail.com

Dear friends,

APSCCON is organising a Seminar on December 27, 2009 to discuss and
highlight two very important subjects,namely

     1] Problems and Concerns of Senior Citizens in Rural Areas and Slums
     2] Right to Affordable Health Care of Senior Citizens
[particularly of APL category]

The first is a very important subject but is generally ignored.  The
importance of the second can not be over emphasised.
Therefore, this Seminar needs your active participation and support.

It will be held in the auditorium of Sweekar Upkar, Picket,
Secundrabad from 2.00PM to 6.30PM on Sunday, the December 27, 2009

Our Hon'ble Chief Minister, Sri K. Rosaiah is expected to inaugurate it

Senior Gerontologists namely Prof. P.V.Ramamurty and Dr. D. Jamuna
have kindly consented to participate. In addition eminent Seniors
from other parts of the State and from outside are also expected to
attend.

Blazing Twilight will print on this occasion a Souvenir issue. You are
invited to  contribute articles and pictures  for printing in the
Souvenir They can be sent to Dr. P. Vyasamurthy, Co-Editor, or me or
directly to Dr. T.V.S. Rao, Mg. Editor, positively by December 7,
2009. The address of Dr. TVS Rao is,
                                "Mandakini", 9-29-9, Balajinagar,
Sripuram, Visakhapatnam [Tel:9866085363,
E.Mail<venkatasubbarao.telikicherla@gmail.com>, ]

The articles can be in English or Telugu.

You are also requested to arrange  advertisements to be published in
the above Issue. The tariff is given in the attached Appeal

The registration fee is Rs.100/- per delegate.

Further details will be announced shortly.

Warm regards,
R.N.Mital
8-2-333/14a, Road No 3,
Banjara Hills,
Hyderabad 500034

________________________________
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