After TOI spotlight, Goa government rushes to aid of senior citizen

Lisa Monteiro | TNN | Updated: Apr 6, 2020, 08:24 IST

Representative image

PANAJI: Hours after TOI front-paged a report on how the state government abandoned many of its elderly citizens, the administration responded to a case highlighted by the article. Julia, a 75-year-old who had to depend on the goodness of neighbours and friends to get through the initial days of the lockdown, on Sunday received a package of assorted essential commodities.
TOI’s article, headlined ‘For seniors, angels walked in where government failed to tread’, prompted the South Goa collector’s office to tweet thus: “The inconvenience caused is highly regretted and the same is noted by the district administration.
Taluka mamlatdar in-charge has been directed to look into the matter. May please contact 9921670761. Also, (if) Julia or her neighbour’s contact may be shared for necessary assistance.”
Soon, Julia, who lives with her disabled daughter, opened their front door to find 10 packets of noodles, 8kg of rice and 7 packets of toor dal. “I only had rice left for two more days. I’m grateful for this,” Julia told TOI on Sunday.
Unable to walk out of her house, Julia has been depending on her neighbours and good samaritans.
Despite never missing an election, not even a municipal one, and hiring a rickshaw at her own expense to take her daughter to the polling booth to vote at each election, no government representative had ever offered her any assistance or even made a courtesy call to find out how she was surviving. That changed on Sunday.
“I received such wonderful things. I’m thankful that God helped me through these people. At least I have something in my house now. I don’t have to worry,” she told TOI.
TOI had reported how the mother-daughter duo who lived on their own and couldn’t get out of their houses were struggling with food and medicines especially after not receiving the Rs 2,000 under the Dayanand Social Security Scheme for February, which was supposed to be credited to her bank account in March. She relies on this money for groceries and medication for her and her daughter.