Bolangir: Alleging a “three-month delay” in the disbursement of old-age pensions, hundreds of beneficiaries Sunday staged a protest outside the Block Development Officer’s office in Patnagarh block of Odisha’s Bolangir district.
During the demonstration, beneficiaries submitted a three-point memorandum to the Governor through the local BDO, seeking intervention in the matter.
Among their demands were immediate clearance of outstanding pension payments, restoration of physical cash disbursement instead of bank transfers, and implementation of a monthly pension of Rs 3,500 for beneficiaries aged above 80 years, sources said.
Patnagarh BDO Suman Minj assured the protesting beneficiaries that the financial backlog would be resolved at the earliest. Minj stated that the “temporary disruption” was caused by a “comprehensive system upgrade within the state infrastructure.”
