Vijayawada: Government stops pensions, senior citizens cry foul

Vijayawada: Elderly people, widows and disabled persons narrated their tale of woes on how they lost their monthly pension after the creation of ward secretariats in the State.

The CPM city unit has arranged a meeting with the beneficiaries, who are not getting pension for one and two months. The State government was sanctioning Rs 2,250 pension ever since it came to power. Earlier, the TDP government used to pay Rs 2,000 per month. But, thousands of elderly people, widows and disabled in the city are not getting pensions.

CPM State secretariat member and former CPM city secretary Chigurupati Baburao, former corporator of the 37th division Gade Adilakshmi, senor leader Donepudi Kasinath and others arranged a press meeting with the victims.

An elderly disabled woman Annapurnamma Vallapani, Boora Durga, K Suryakantham, V Simhachalam, D Siva Kumari, M Fakeerrao, Lakshmi Prasanna and others spoke to the media at the CPM district office in Governorpet and explained their woes. They demanded that the state government restore pensions and help them financially. Some of them are more than 70 years of age and not in a position to walk.

Annapurnamma said she used to get pension from Rs 50 onwards and wondered as to how she can survive without pension. Some of them lost the pensions as the electricity bill in their homes crossed 300 units and some others because someone was a government employee in their house. Some victims still are not in a position to understand as to why the government had cancelled the monthly pensions to them. Some lost the pension because they had filed IT returns. As per the rule, those who paid IT returns are not eligible for the pension.

Chigurupati Babu Rao demanded that the State government immediately restore the pension and help the poor people. He alleged that the government stopped pensions to five lakh beneficiaries in the State.