Ayres Sequeira
There is no such thing as poverty, it is forced upon us. If there is poverty then it is created by men oppressing the lowly and depriving them of nature’s bounty, be it in our country or here in Goa. Sadly, it is very painful to hear our politicians speak of poverty and lower the image of our country as poor. In this age of advanced technology, we shouldn’t have been thinking of poverty, leave aside speaking of it.
Poverty leads to illiteracy because those who cannot afford to go to school, obviously opt not to educate themselves. It is here that our politicians play their trump card at election time to win. Being unknowledgeable, people are lured away by false promises and doles and then forgotten of all about them after they come to power. This has become a vicious cycle and poverty which is non-existent is perpetrated to bring shame to our country.
It is given to know 30% per cent of our national wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. The ranking of these few is depicting who is a millionaire and who is the richest. Is this a prestige or is it just a tag to stand apart for worldly fame while many go hungry and without a shelter?
It is proposed to hike the salaries of the local MLAs, adding a burden of Rs 7 cr annually on the State (Herald, August 1, 2018); but for what, many question to know the reason why. Their lifestyle is a strain on the public exchequer while the common man suffers from inefficient administration. Our roads and highways are in horrible condition, health facilities are minimal, public hospitals are deplorable, primary Govt schools are very badly maintained where children have to sit under the cover of umbrellas during the monsoons and school children are served poor quality mid-day meals with cockroaches and lizards; the list goes on. Where is all the hard earned public money going while ministers go abroad for treatment and patients take admission at the GMC with a last prayer in their mouth that they may return back home safe.
Mahatma Gandhi went about very poorly clad to depict the poverty of our country during the British rule when people were oppressed, and demanded that India be given independence to be free. Low! Here we are today. If our representatives do really work for the betterment of Goa and the Goans then they should do likewise to identify themselves with the common man. How many are willing to take up the challenge?
