Long wait in hot sun for pension claims two lives

Nizamabad/Hyderabad : Old people are being made to wait for long hours in serpentine queues for receiving pensions and other benefits. Despite scores of them taking ill due to sun stroke, the government does not care to provide any amenities to them. The situation has worsened in the last two days with the heat stroke claiming two lives in the State.A

On Friday, a woman Posani (70) died while standing in the queue at the post office to receive her pension in Utpally village of Bhodan mandal in Nizamabad district. After standing in the queue for some time, she could not bear it and collapsed and died on the spot around 1 pm, said village assistant Sailu. Postmaster Parat Ali said she had not been keeping well for the last two months and that she is survived by a son and a daughter.

In another incident in the State capital, a 70-year-old woman Maya Lakshmamma died of sunstroke after a six-hour-long wait for getting photographed to avail of old age pension, at a smart card centre in Vaddera Basti in Golnaka area on Thursday afternoon.

In order to take photographs of beneficiaries, the revenue wing of the district administration collaborated with ICICI Bank. The beneficiaries without smart cards cannot avail of the pension. A According to an eye-witness, Lakshmamma, a widow, reached the centre by 8 am, and could not withstand scorching heat. She collapsed on the spot and died while being rushed to a local hospital. She is survived by a son who works in a private company.A She died because of both delay and lack of facilities, said Rudra Suchitra, a beneficiary of the scheme.

Amberpet Tahsildar P Leela said the revenue officials could not be held responsible for the death. She clarified, "ICICI representatives are distributing the money. They are supposed to arrange all the facilities." She however, stated that three village revenue officials (VRO) were assigned to monitor the process. Hyderabad District Collector Rizvi expressed his regret over the incident. He directed officials to arrange basic facilities at the centres.