GUWAHATI: Senior citizens of the sports fraternity of Assam who are dependent on the sports pension are facing hardships due to the irregularity in the disbursal of pension.
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The money has been halted in this quarter and the pension beneficiaries have not received it. Few of the pensioners even claimed that there has been a 20% deduction in two of their installments in the last quarter. Few of the pensioners told G Plus that when they enquired about the deduction, they did not receive any appropriate response.
The last disbursal of the pension was in April with 20% deduction. G Plus spoke to Shankar Lahkar, former Ranji Trophy and Table Tennis (TT) player who claimed difficulty in receiving the pension.
"I am above 70 years of age and each time I have to visit Secretariat for the pension and other paperwork. At this age and with the pandemic situation, it has become extremely difficult," said Lahkar. Shankar Lahkar is currently serving as the Secretary of All Assam Sports Pensioners' Association.
The other problem he cited was that of communication. "The retired persons of other districts such as Goalpara and Kokrajhar contact me for their problems. They can't just visit Guwahati every time. They are facing more problems," added Lahkar.
The President of the All Assam Sports Pensioners' Association Badal Thakur is also aged above 80. As such, they face a further complication with the paperwork they are bestowed with.
To take stock of the matter, G Plus spoke to Dharma Kanta Mili, Director of Sports regarding the situation.
"Quarter-wise, the salary is given. We have sent it to the Finance department and the bills are sent to treasury," said Mili. The official revealed that the issue is stuck in the Finance Department. "We have cleared it from our side," added the official.
As such, G Plus approached Shyam Jagannathan, Secretary to the Government of Assam, Finance Department who claimed that "the matter was brought to their notice only recently".
"This is a procedural issue and the matter has been addressed," said Jagannathan.
