<p>The delayed disbursal of old age pension due to the lockdown has hit senior citizens hard with not many of them having received a penny since February, a survey by an NGO said.</p>.<p>The survey by Aikyata, the NGO campaigning for the dignity of elderly persons, said delayed pension had been the normal practice with many receiving the benefit after a gap of two or three months. However, as the lockdown has cut access to everything, their condition has worsened.</p>.<p>“Most senior citizens do not have phones and therefore have to make repeated trips to post offices or banks to inquire if their pensions have been deposited,” the report submitted to the High Court of Karnataka said. Noting that aged persons were particularly vulnerable due to their age and pre-existing health conditions, the report said the restriction on movement had made the process of collecting pension a herculean task.</p>.<p>The survey, conducted on random 60 pensioners, shows that most of them have received pensions for January and February 2020 but are not sure whether the pension for March is deposited.</p>.<p>The report recommended the government to deposit three month’s pension in their accounts with immediate effect and also make special arrangements to depute staff for intimating the pensioners.</p>.<p>It said mobile banking extension counters should be provided at residential areas of the senior citizens till the end of the lockdown.</p>.<p>Prof Rajendra Y J, PUCL president and petitioners in the high court, said the government was not implementing even existing provisions to help the vulnerable section.</p>
<p>The delayed disbursal of old age pension due to the lockdown has hit senior citizens hard with not many of them having received a penny since February, a survey by an NGO said.</p>.<p>The survey by Aikyata, the NGO campaigning for the dignity of elderly persons, said delayed pension had been the normal practice with many receiving the benefit after a gap of two or three months. However, as the lockdown has cut access to everything, their condition has worsened.</p>.<p>“Most senior citizens do not have phones and therefore have to make repeated trips to post offices or banks to inquire if their pensions have been deposited,” the report submitted to the High Court of Karnataka said. Noting that aged persons were particularly vulnerable due to their age and pre-existing health conditions, the report said the restriction on movement had made the process of collecting pension a herculean task.</p>.<p>The survey, conducted on random 60 pensioners, shows that most of them have received pensions for January and February 2020 but are not sure whether the pension for March is deposited.</p>.<p>The report recommended the government to deposit three month’s pension in their accounts with immediate effect and also make special arrangements to depute staff for intimating the pensioners.</p>.<p>It said mobile banking extension counters should be provided at residential areas of the senior citizens till the end of the lockdown.</p>.<p>Prof Rajendra Y J, PUCL president and petitioners in the high court, said the government was not implementing even existing provisions to help the vulnerable section.</p>
