Readers' Forum
Medical relief
Recently when I was in Bombay I witnessed the plight of our aging population. As if the housing shortage, children leaving home for greener pastures, exorbitant prices of all essential goods were not enough, medical bills are soaring. No doubt the Parsis have long lives, but at what cost? It’s pathetic to find senior citizens literally in tears while dishing out large sums of cash every month to pharmacies or chemists.
We need to have a corpus fund to provide subsidized, if not free medicines. Irrespective of whether a person is from the middle class or poor, medicines need to be made available at affordable rates. Why waste money on aviaries? Channel it into medicines instead. No wonder it is often said that Parsis have an obsession with their dead, rather than doing something for the living.
Medicines are a lifeline for most of the not-so-young, so why not do something about it? Most panchayets and anjumans can muster up enough funds to cater to the needs of their flock. True, the B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital in Bombay is doing yeoman service to the community, but they cannot be doling out free or subsidized medicines.
If a corpus fund for medicines comes into existence and is implemented properly, no Parsi need suffer misery in old age.
The motto of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet should be ghér ané davaa (house and medicine) to everyone who needs them, whether married outside the community or within, belonging to middle class or poor!
Don’t ever believe that we lack the funds. If we can spend lakhs on expenses that can be avoided and sell off defunct anjuman assets, we should be doing something to bring smiles on the faces of our community members who are battling with manmade moghwari (high cost of living).
We need to have a corpus fund to provide subsidized, if not free medicines. Irrespective of whether a person is from the middle class or poor, medicines need to be made available at affordable rates. Why waste money on aviaries? Channel it into medicines instead. No wonder it is often said that Parsis have an obsession with their dead, rather than doing something for the living.
Medicines are a lifeline for most of the not-so-young, so why not do something about it? Most panchayets and anjumans can muster up enough funds to cater to the needs of their flock. True, the B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital in Bombay is doing yeoman service to the community, but they cannot be doling out free or subsidized medicines.
If a corpus fund for medicines comes into existence and is implemented properly, no Parsi need suffer misery in old age.
The motto of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet should be ghér ané davaa (house and medicine) to everyone who needs them, whether married outside the community or within, belonging to middle class or poor!
Don’t ever believe that we lack the funds. If we can spend lakhs on expenses that can be avoided and sell off defunct anjuman assets, we should be doing something to bring smiles on the faces of our community members who are battling with manmade moghwari (high cost of living).
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