Post offices in West Bengal will deliver pension at the residences of people who are 80-years old or above during the lockdown period, a senior official of the Postal Department said. For others, pension will be disbursed from the post offices from April 3, the official said.
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“We have decided to deliver pension right at the doorsteps of citizens who are 80-years and above or those who are infirm”, Chief Postmaster General (CPMG) of West Bengal circle Goutam Bhattacharya told the PTI.
He said delivery of pension at the doorsteps will start from April 4 onwards and the beneficiaries have already been intimated in this regard.
“This is an extraordinary situation for which we have taken this measure. For others, pension will be disbursed from April 3 as the previous two days fall under annual closing”, he said.
People coming to post offices for pension withdrawals or cash deposits will have to maintain social-distancing as per government guidelines and hand sanitisers will also be provided.
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For those delivering the pension amount at home, adequate security will be given to avert any untoward incident, he said.
Mr. Bhattacharya said the main priority of the Postal Department is to see that there are no problems regarding cash withdrawals from savings accounts.
“Not all the post offices will remain open during the lockdown period due to lack of manpower as many of our staff come from neighbouring districts, but the major ones like head and sub-post offices will be kept open”, he added.
The ATMs of the post offices, which are inter-operable with banks, will remain open across the State.
The Postal Department has also given priority for transport of medical kits and other related parcels to other places.
“Since trains are not running, we are sending these parcels by road wherever possible. For long distances, the items are being transported by cargo flights of Air India, Spicejet and Blue Dart”, he said.
