Dear Saathis at the Kam Mango Abhiyan (KMA) and the Pension Parishad (PP),
I am writing this mail to you to point out a sad overlap in the struggle for ‘work for all’ and ‘pensions for all elderly’. While the Kam Mango Abhiyan padyatras were happening in Katihar, several of our pad yatra teams would call in saying that what do we do when elderly who get social security pension apply for work? With a meager pension of Rupees 200/300 and no other support system our elderly have no option but to work at MNREGA worksite. They really want this work and so we advised that irrespective of age we help people get work and job cards.
We are sharing stories of some of these elderly who applied for job cards and work, and do not even get the Rupees 200 because they are categorized as APL. These stories were put together by Shomira, a young student from Delhi University who was part of the KMA in Katihar (Bihar).
At this time having viable pensions for all elderly is much needed and it is in this context that over 200 elderly are sitting in the cold in Delhi on a dharna with these very relevant demands.
Best wishes
Kamayani