Rich-poor divide on the rise in state, says Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad

Thiruvananthapuram: The three-day Kerala Development Congress organised by the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) concluded here on Saturday after identifying four key development crises facing the state.

“Through the papers presented we could identify that the divide between poor and the rich in the state is increasing. Wealth is concentrating in the hands of 10 percent whereas 10 percent is impoverished and 40 percent poor. This has occurred because of increasing spending from own pockets . Fifty percent of the people have three-four types of debt,” said KSSP president N.K. Sasidharan Pillai.

The other crises are threat to environment, cultural degradation and inequality in man-woman relationship.

Speaking at the concluding session of the development congress, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala said that Kerala should redefine the role of its human resource so as to address the so-called issue of unemployment.

“In fact, there is no issue of unemployment here. There are jobs but people are not willing to do them. Once Tamils came here to take over the jobs, but with MNREGP in place they are also not coming, and people from Orissa and North-East are substituting them. We have become like residents of Dubai who purchase everything without producing,” Ramesh said.