Elderly Man Dies In Kashmir While Waiting In Queue For Old Age Pension In Sub-zero Temperature

A 62-year-old man namely Sonaullah Bhat died on Tuesday while waiting for verification of his identification to get an old age pension at the social welfare office in the Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir. Political parties have expressed concern over the incident and sought compensation for the man.  

A government official said he died at the Tehsil Social Welfare office on Tuesday morning as he was waiting for his turn to submit his documents for verification. The officials say the elderly had reached the office early Tuesday morning much before office hours. The official described the incident as unfortunate and said this shouldn’t have happened. “It is true that the person died on the premises of the social welfare department. But I should tell you he was here in the office before the opening of the office.  It seems he was in panic whether his pension would be disbursed or not,” the official told reporters. He said the elderly need not visit the office early and there is no last date to submit the old age pension forms.

The family members of the deceased said Bhat went to submit an old age pension form on Monday and remained in the queue the whole day and returned home without submitting the form. “On Tuesday he left his home at about 8 a.m. and later we heard he died on the premises of the social welfare department,” the family member said. Bhat is survived by three daughters and his wife.

Expressing concern over the death of an elderly Bhat, CPI (M) leader Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami demanded simplifying the whole process of the old age pension scheme.

“This is very shocking and hardships are being faced by the disabled, widows, divorcees, old age pensioners, transgenders, downtrodden and other destitute. They get meager pensions through the Social Welfare Department after the online registration,” Tarigami said.

“The beneficiaries, who are old-aged including the disabled are being made to sit in large queues for hours in sub-zero temperatures outside concerned offices which led to the unfortunate death of this poor elderly person,” he added.

The CPI(M) leader urged the administration to take measures for simplifying the whole process and demanded immediate relief for the victim’s family.

“Shocked by the death of an elderly man while waiting in a queue to submit his pension documents in Bandipora. Despite numerous pleas to simplify the registration process, the admin is unmoved and utterly insensitive to the struggle of old age pensioners,” Peoples Conference leader Adan Ashraf Mir said.

Authorities on Tuesday ordered enquiry to ascertain all related aspects into the death of a 62-year-old pension applicant in the premises of office of Tehsil Social Welfare Officer.