ASIA/INDIA - Bishop of Kerala to the government: give a home to the homeless

Cochin (Agenzia Fides) - To give a home to the homeless in Kerala was the appeal launched to the state government of Kerala by Philipose Mar Crisostomo, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara independent Church "Mar Thoma" in Kerala. As Fides learns, the Prime Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, visited the home of the Metropolitan who was born in 1918, and is one of the most senior bishops of India, a very respected personality and appreciated in decades of pastoral and spiritual works. Chandy, presented the project "Zero Landless" to Church leaders, which aims to provide a plot of land to all farmers who do not have one. On this occasion, the Metropolitan suggested an identical project "Zero homeless", demanding the state of Kerala to have the same attention towards all homeless families. The Metropolitan remarked that financial assistance should reach the population with the requirements ("landless" or "homeless") directly through the institutions of the local government, so that the funds collected are not lost in the streams of corruption.
That of the "homeless" in India is one of the scourges that afflict society. According to official estimates, the homeless people in India are more than 78 million. According to observers, given the rising cost of land and construction materials, and the deterioration of economic conditions in the lower levels of society, the question cannot be faced without state intervention. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 06/11/2013)