Are we not even worthy of our votes?

Recent articles in the print media giving wide coverage to the presidential election campaigns held at different times and venues, highlight the lavish promises made to almost all segments making up the population - all these promising a brighter future for all! Well and good.

Nobody seems to be saying anything about the youth of yesteryear - the senior citizens of today-- who are now retired after years of yoman service to the nation. This is a sad situation. They are a community that is merely surviving on the meagre interests earned from the investment of their retirement benefits. This is particularly so with those who served in the private sector.

It is a well accepted fact that various ailments get the better of us as we get older. These entail, apart from expenses for other day to day needs, enormous medical costs which are not cheap anymore. While it is praiseworthy that the government has allowed an inerest rate of 15% per annum or 14.06% per month on the first Rs.1.5 million invested in FDs, can one manage to survive on Rs. 17,575 per month incurring heavy medical expenses, soaring cost of living, housing and other expenses for urban facilities, telephone and the list goes on! The paltry interests earned on investments over and above the 1.5 million is not worthy of any mention!

A crucial question to ask at this juncture is - are we not even worthy of our votes? Why are we being left in the lurch with nothing to look forward to? If it was by an oversight that we have been left out, then, can the presidential candidates promise us that we too will be looked after and that we will be benefitted by allowing the current threshold to be raised from Rs 1.5 million to 3 million at least?

Basil Paiva Borella