Pensioners struggle to show their existence

A large number of aged pensioners are doing the rounds of the Mee Seva centres s and struggling to show that they are ‘alive’ to get their pension without a break.

This entails getting their thumb impressions screened by a biometric device once in six months.

Most elderly persons’ thumbs were not getting screened biometrically as the impressions were blurred. The officials concerned have been taking an impression  iris of elderly persons whose thumb impressions did not come out properly. The pension amount then gets transferred to their bank accounts.

Gone Gangamma of Neeratiwada of Tirpelli in Adilabad town who visited the Mee Seva at Adilabad collectorate to have her thumb impression taken found both thumbs left blurred impressions.

The screened image had no sharpness. She said she would have to return to the Mee Seva centre to get her iris photographed on July1, a procedure that would have to be repeated every six months.

M. Mohan, the computer operator at Mee Seva centre, said that  getting a clear impression of elderly people’s thumbs was a common problem. He said that they  generally tried to capture the right or left thumb impressions first and if they could not succeed, they later tried to take impressions of the middle, right and left fingers both the hands.

Pensioners including old age, an elderly widow, toddy tappers, disabled and beedi rolling labourers thronged the Mee Seva centres in large numbers to get their thumb impressions linked with their Aadhaar card numbers.     

The state government has been paying Asara pensions to 2,67,304 beneficiaries,  pension under Abhaya Hastam to 713 beneficiaries and pensions to  64,214 beedi making labourers in the Adilabad district.

Congress to encourage young leadership

The Congress party is likely to encourage young leadership in the party in the wake of defections of some MLAs and MPs and lack of coordination among the senior leaders in Telangana.

This is being viewed as a good opportunity to the young Congress leaders who did not get due recognition in the shade of senior leaders. Party will conduct meetings in the 

Assembly and MP constituencies represented by defected leaders who joined the TRS.

The statements made by the Congress party general secretary Digvijay Singh in Adilabad during his visit are any indication to this.

‘We had good cadre and young leaders with the party though few business leaders left the party for their selfish gains and certainly we will encourage young  leadership in the party in Telangana’, said Digvijay Singh while adding that the problem with the party is a number of leaders.

A young Congress leader of Adilabad said that the senior Congress leaders enjoyed the power most of their life with the blessing of the party and left the party for their selfish gains when the party was in need of their support and also without bothering about the political future of young leaders.

Especially the Youth Congress and NSUI leaders were seen disturbed with the exodus of the senior party leaders into TRS but the Digvijay Singh’s statements in favor of young leadership boosted their morale and revived their political hopes.

Sources said Congress party high command is not happy with the senior leaders who misguided the party high command saying that party will get full credit for the creation of the Telangana and the party will come to the power in the state.

Congress leaders are planning to organize agitation programs for the rights of the farmers and unemployed youth especially university students who led the Telangana movement from the front. It is learned that Digvijay Singh asked the leaders of congress party to take up agitation.