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Harassment adds to plight of old pensioners

Abdullah Al Mahmud
Pensioners continue to suffer when they come to draw their pension at the Pay & Cash Office of Bangladesh Railway in Chittagong every month.
Indifference of the authorities concerned to the problems causes the sufferings to pensioners when a section of dishonest staffs at the Cash Office cash in on the situation to realise speed money for payment and add to the plight of the elderly people.
Around 12,000 pensioners of Bangladesh Railway eastern zone come to draw their pension at the Pay & Cash Office adjoining to old building of Chittagong Railway Station every month, sources said.
With some 4000 of them receiving the pension through postal service the rest of around 8000 pensioners are to draw it directly from the cash office, sources added.
As such, several hundred pensioners, mostly old and infirm or helpless, crowd the Pay & Cash Office and struggle for hours for payment.
There are two small waiting rooms with poor sitting arrangements and two dilapidated latrines giving off bad smell for the elderly men and women, waiting for pension.
With the waiting rooms outside the main building of Pay & Cash Office always remaining overcrowded, they wait for hours standing in a long queue in the open space being exposed to sun and rains, alleged some of the pensioners on the Pay and Cash Office premise on Sunday.
“Only erection of a shade structure and a stall for refreshment in the open space of Cash Office compound could ease our sufferings to a great extent/’ pensioner Abdus Sattar said, adding, “The uncared for and unusable latrines also need some improvement."
“The staffs concerned take so-called “stamp fees” and speed money against most of the payments. Otherwise, they force the pensioners to stand for long and harass them in different ways,” alleged Maksud Mia, a pensioner.
Sources said, usually the pensioners can draw their money through wards or representatives each month or at a time after several months.
But, during the “Hazira” (annual attendance) each of around
12,000 pensioners is to appear before the officials concerned in person from different parts of the country. The crowd go beyond tolerable limit at this time, they said.
The authorities concerned have fixed December for annual hazira of those drawing pension directly from Pay & Cash Office (headquarters) and January for those receiving payment through postal department.
During the second phase of hazira in January, the scenario is more piteous with the pensioners arriving from remote areas of different districts including Dhaka. After the journey, it takes them at least two days to register their attendance.
However, there is scope for registering attendance appear-
ing before the pension department at Central Railway Building (CRB) at any time of the year. But, one has to face harassment while registering attendance at this unscheduled period.
One Mosharraf Hossain of Railway Nirapatta Bahini said he took her octogenarian mother for recording her attendance on March 8 when an assistant pay master (pension) demanded speed money from him saying, “You have to spend something to get something".
He said the official refrained from registering her attendance as I refused to pay the speed money.
He said he has lodged a written complaint with Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer (FA&CAO) Saroj Kanti Dev
in this regard
When contacted Saroj Dev said a committee has been formed to probe into the matter and the officer concerned will be punished if the allegation is proved.
Meanwhile, the pensioners said payment through banks can reduce their sufferings like other civil departments.
Saroj Dev said they had taken such an initiative but could not be implemented due to reluctance of the banks. He said the banks are reluctant to take up the responsibility of disbursing the pension even for one percent service charge. He, however, said they are still trying to make arrangement to pay the pension through banks.
Shakhawat Hossain, manager (Pay & Cash) said to cope with the pressure of pensioners the Cash Office with its inadequate staffs sometimes runs even in the night.
He said they have divided the pensioners into several groups and fixed separate dates for each group to ease payment throughout the months.
Shakhawat said yet the crowd is much more larger at the beginning of the payment dates when as many as 500 to 600 come to draw pension everyday.
Asked about the bribing and speed-money
Shakhawat said they get complaints of receiving speed money very often. They serve notices cautioning the employees and officials concerned, he added.
He said they will definitely take action if anyone is found involved in such evil practice.