Raiganj, Sept. 22 -- A 70-year-old woman died after reportedly falling ill while waiting in a long queue at the Goalpokhar-II block office in North Dinajpur district to enquire about her old-age pension.
The woman, identified as Bhakur Singha, died at Chakulia Hospital on Monday evening. She had been receiving an old-age pension but allegedly had not received the benefit for nearly four months.
Singha had gone to the block office to enquire about the delay and reportedly waited in the queue for several hours. She is said to have fainted while standing in the queue under the sun.
Locals immediately rushed her to Chakulia Hospital. Doctors reportedly referred her to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. However, she died before she could be shifted, her family members said.
Her son, Jahar Singha, said: "My mother had not received her old-age pension for the last four months. Without informing us, she went to the block office and stood in the long queue under the sun. She suddenly became unconscious. She was admitted to Chakulia Hospital, where doctors referred her to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. She died before we could shift her. We believe the stress over the discontinuation of her pension may have contributed to her high blood pressure."
Local resident Raghunath Singha alleged that the pension payments of several elderly beneficiaries in the block had stopped without any clear reason. He demanded that the block administration take immediate steps to restore the payments.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.