Abhishek to distribute old age pension from January 7

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from Diamond Harbour Abhishek Banerjee is all set to distribute old age pension among the beneficiaries from across his Parliamentary constituency from January.

If everything goes as per plan, Banerjee may start distributing old age pensions among the elderly people from January 7 from a programme that may take place at Pailan, sources said. His recent announcement that 70,000 eligible individuals under his Parliamentary constituency would get “hassle-free” old age pension saw an unprecedented success with nearly 1 lakh people registering to avail the facility.

Around 1 lakh potential beneficiaries have registered to avail the facilities after Banerjee had made this announcement. Eligible candidates who have registered for availing the service will be able to get it at Banerjee’s meeting on January 7. Initially when Banerjee had announced the service, it was presumed that roughly around 70,000 names may be registered under his constituency. But the number has gone up as many more elderly citizens came up to register themselves. More than 200 assistant centres were set up across the constituency to streamline the process.

“The overwhelming response reflects the deep-rooted trust and appreciation for this noble initiative. The number of applicants has already gone up much beyond the figure of 70,000 which was earlier announced,” Trinamool in an earlier social media post had stated.

Sources said that Banerjee has given clear instructions that all the individuals will be able to avail of this service without any difficulties.

While addressing a public gathering in Falta on November 10, Banerjee had assured old age pensions to around 70,000 eligible individuals of Diamond Harbour. The subsequent establishment of MP Assistance Centres, dedicated to streamlining the registration process, has surpassed all expectations.

These Kiosks-cum-camps are facilitating the process to ensure that eligible people can apply for the old age pension scheme without a hassle. Banerjee had earlier announced that if any senior citizens fail to avail of the benefits by December 31, he will pay the amount to the beneficiaries in a phased manner after January 1, 2024.