Recentfusion.com—Pokhara: Indian Gurkha ex-armies accused Indian Pension Paying Office (PPO) Pokhara of putting them on problem in pension receiving process after their retirement from the service.
They also blamed PPO of breaching Indian law in such a way that the PPO is working as an autonomous body instead of following the rules and regulations of Indian Government. Organizing a press meet in Pokhara on Wednesday, the Ex-Servicemen Cell (ESC) Pokhara complained that the widows of ex-armies have been facing difficulties to transfer their pension right from their husbands.
According to ESC coordinator Colonel Kaman Singh Gurung, PPO Pokhara asked for citizenship certificate, marriage register certificate, land owning certificate including a dozen documents to transfer a pension right from husband to his wife after the death of her spouse though she has a pension book of her husband.
As per the Indian law, the pension right is automatically transferred from husband to wife following his death but PPO, claims Colonel Gurung, is rigid on ex-armies who has two names, those armies who admitted in force changing their caste, second wife following the death of first wife and variant in death of birth of ex-army.
Gurung also suggested concern body to sort out all the problems and difficulties through an officers’ team bringing it from India to Nepal. ‘It’s a big discrimination over us that the Indian army’s widow easily receive pension as she submits her husband’s death certificate to pension office but ex-army’s Nepali widow has to gather about a dozen of documents to have same right.’ Gurung added- it’s illegal and discrimination too.
Some 40 percent of ex-armies family has been facing the problem of two names of a same ex-army who had to change his caste while on his recruitment as Brahmin, Dalit including some other castes that had hardly been recruited in Indian Army from his real cast.
The problem is being raised when PPO asks for citizenship certificate from ex-army; and in some cases, his names doesn’t match with the name of his pension book though he is a same person of two names.
ESC claims that though his organization has been submitting their demands and problems to PPO Pokhara and Indian Embassy but nothing has happened in response. So, according to Colonel Gurung his organization is planning to submit a memorandum to visiting Indian President Pranab Mukherjee who is scheduled to visit Pokhara tomorrow.
He also claimed that his organization is not protesting against Indian Government and Presidnt Mukherjee but expressing dissatisfaction over the dilly-dally and procrastination of the staffers of PPO Pokhara and difficulties created by them. According to ESC secretary and honorary captain Padam Bahadur Gurung, there are 126,000 Indian Ex-Gurkha armies including 63,000 in Pokhara region, in Nepal.
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