Suffering pensioners
Peter J. Rebeiro, West Rajabazar, Tejgaon, Dhaka
It's a matter of great regret seeing the aged pensioners who are over 65-70 years of age standing in long queues and waiting for hours just to withdraw their monthly pension-- the amount of which is insufficient to maintain themselves, leave alone their families. Sick, tired or weak no matter what condition they are in, these people are compelled to stand in the long queue. Not only that, sometimes these elderly gentlemen are treated very badly by the officers on duty. A slight mistake on the part of the senior citizens usually invites gross misconduct. Some of the pensioners are coming from miles away, especially the ones who live outside Dhaka city. On the first day of every month, more than 500 pensioners gather at the GPO. Most of them arrive by 7:00am just to be the first one to submit the form. The payment is made through a counter where the man takes his own time (slow as a snail) counting the money several times and the most intolerable is that five officers have to sign one pension form before the pensioner withdraws his money. In these modern times, cash transaction has become one of the most sophisticated services in the world. But not in our context! People are withdrawing huge amounts in minuets from banks and other financial institutions that have to deal with thousands of customers. Why do the pensioners have to suffer just to draw their monthly pension, after working for many years in the public sector? The authorities should consider the pensioners' position and take such measures as will make it easier for them to draw the pension money.
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