RAWALPINDI, Oct 8: About 24,000 pensioners of now defunct Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) are perturbed over the decision of the tehsil municipal administration (TMA) of stopping direct payment to them, some of the pensioners told Dawn on Sunday.

They said the tehsil administration had asked them to get their pension amount from a branch of the Bank of Punjab in Rawalpindi.

They said now the retired employees had to come to Rawalpindi to get meagre pension amount from other cities like Sialkot, Mianwali and Sargodha etc. It has been learnt that some of the old pensioners, mostly women, get only Rs300 to Rs500 as monthly pension. The pensioners were of the view that keeping in view the meagre pension amount, it was a joke with them.

They said sometimes it took two to three days to get the pension money released from the bank due to heavy rush. “This means that those pensioners, who get only Rs300 to Rs500 pension, should keep an equal amount with them to avoid shortage of money if their stay in Rawalpindi prolongs,” they added. Moreover, most of the pensioners are women as their husbands or fathers have died and they have to collect the pension.

The pensioners have also criticized the bank officials for their non-cooperation. They said the bank officials treated them roughly.

Besides this, the serving employees of the tehsil administration are also facing problems. They also receive salaries from the same branch of the bank. Due to large number of the employees, the salaries are released turn by turn.