Securing pension from a post office has become a major challenge for senior citizens and disabled persons in East Godavari district.
Though they have been facing this ordeal for last four days, the situation worsened on Saturday. The hapless pensioners blame it on the government’s policy of linking bio-metric system with the Aadhaar. Lack of basic amenities at the post offices where the pensioners wait endlessly is adding to their woes.
The Rajahmundry Postal Superintendent S.M.S.S.V. Prasad says 25,000 urban old-age and disabled pensions were allocated to the Department of Posts and they were divided among sub-post offices in the city. Mr. Prasad says he had asked the post masters to issue tokens and arrange queue for speedy disposal of the pensions.
But the Aryapuram post office, located at the busy Gokavaram bus stand, was seen crowded with pensioners for the last three days. “I can imagine the size of the crowd from the fact that the postal authorities had to deploy two constables to control the pensioners and their assistants,” says Mallikarjun, owner of a photo copy centre located opposite the post office. “I have been accompanying my 82-year-old mother to this place for the last three days. The first two days, we could not even reach the main gate of the post office. Finally today our turn came, but the officials tell us that her thumb impression (bio-metric) does not match with the one in the Aadhaar card and we have been asked to get it certified by the local corporator,” says a young man.
It is mandatory for the beneficiaries to give six copies of thumb impressions which must match with their Aadhaar cards lest they may have to get a certificate either from the local corporator or any authorised revenue official to secure their pension. “Our local corporator is away on a pilgrimage and he is expected to return only after one week and the Revenue official concerned is busy with Pushkaram works. Where do I go?” asked 71-year-old Sugunamma of Rangreejupeta.