Hyderabad: Many families in the Old City live on a paltry income of Rs. 60 a day and are debt-ridden. They are confronting with several health issues. These facts were revealed by a door-to-door survey conducted by Helping Hand Foundation _ a non-governmental organisation.
The report which was released on Tuesday disclosed that mostly the women are the bread earners. They earn Rs. 50 to 60 per day. They also take care of the household chores.
The Times of India has quoted Helping Hand Foundation founder Mujtaba Hasan Askari as saying “In almost 85 per cent of families surveyed, women members not only took care of the household chores but also earned bread by making a living on an earning of Rs. 50 to Rs. 60 a day.”
May women are abandoned by their husbands due to their illness. They are either dependent on their parents or employed in menial jobs.
The survey covering 5,485 families spread over 88 localities in Old City began on May 2 and concluded on May 20. The survey was done to assess health and socio-economic problems of the principal minority community living in the Old City and other urban slums of Hyderabad.
The survey found that 12 per cent women respondents were working as domestic helpers and 78 per cent were involved in stitching, sari and bangle works and artificial jewellery. Ten per cent of women were involved in other works. About 80 per cent of men were daily wage earners. The rest 20 per cent earned money by selling fruits and vegetables.
22 per cent of the respondents did not posses white ration cards, which is compulsory for getting access to various health-related and other welfare schemes of the state government. Sadly 87 per cent households surveyed have one or more than one chronic disease or disability.
The common health problems among the respondents were hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, disability due to trauma injury, blindness, stroke paralysis, joint and back pain, and kidney related problems.
86 per cent of the respondents said that they do not get proper attention and care in government hospitals, hence a majority of them prefer treatment in private hospitals.