Awaiting in queue for pension verification elderly man dies in Bandipora

A 62-year-old man died on Tuesday while waiting for verification of his credentials to get old age pension at the social welfare office in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said here.

Sonaullah Bhat, a resident of Malangam in Bandipora, 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 said.

The cause of Bhat’s death was not immediately known. Thousands of old age pensioners in Kashmir are being made to run from pillar to post for the past several months now for regularising of their pension as the payment process has been moved to online mode.

Political parties have urged the administration to adopt a “humane approach” to the issue. Expressing concern over Bhat’s death, CPM leader Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami reiterated the demand for simplifying the whole process.

He expressed dismay over the hardships being faced by the old people, people with disability, widows, divorcees, transgenders and other needy and destitute with the introduction of online registration.