Srinagar: J&K Peoples Conference senior leader and former minister Syed Basharat Bukhari today censured the administration on the death of an elderly man while waiting in a queue to submit his pension form in Bandipora.
Bukhari said that the process of applying for benefits and delivering those benefits to the beneficiaries should be embedded with dignity.
“The old age pension and other benefits that the state gives to facilitate the lives of needy sections of the society is not a matter of charity. It is the right of those sections to expect the state to care for them with dignity and honour. The state must show magnanimity and respect while dealing with the people it is duty-bound to facilitate. However, it is an irony that to get the care and benefits they are entitled to, the beneficiaries have to suffer and struggle often in long queues and biting cold,” he said.
Bukhari further urged the government to simplify the registration process and use digital avenues to make the entire process easy and facilitative so that the beneficiaries are not inconvenienced while applying for benefits.
