Berhampur: The beneficiaries of old age and widow pension in Odisha’s Berhampur city have been deprived of their dues allegedly due to irregularities in disbursement of funds.
According to sources, the senior citizens and women have to return without getting the pension after waiting for several hours. As per norms, Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) notifies the dates when the pension would be paid to the beneficiaries of which Wards under it.
The state government has assigned the task of disbursement of funds to a private bank which has outsourced the work to a private organisation. The employees of the private organisation are supposed to make the payment of pension at the doorstep of the beneficiaries.
But, for the last two days, the pension has not been paid to the beneficiaries. On Friday, the widows and old people of Ward I to IV under the BeMC went to the place assigned for payment of pension to receive their dues as per the notification of BeMC. After waiting there from 10 am to 4 pm, they had to return without the pension as no employee of the private organisation turned up for making the payment.
Similarly on Saturday, the beneficiaries of Ward V to VIII returned without getting the pension as outsourced organisation’s employees did not turn up. The beneficiaries of Wards I to IV, who were not paid previous day, had also gathered at the place on the day.
The beneficiaries alleged that neither the BeMC nor the bank authorities clarified why the payment of the pension was being delayed nor said about the exact date of payment.
However, following the intervention of corporator of Ward V Padmini Mishra, some beneficiaries were paid their pension on Saturday afternoon, the sources said. It has been decided to make payment of the pension from December 19 to 28, they added.
When contacted, BeMC commissioner J Sonal said he was they would look into the problems faced by the pension beneficiaries and take suitable steps accordingly.
It may be noted that the corporators of different wards of BeMC had condemned the indifference of the bank authorities towards payment of the pension at a meeting recently.
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