Living woman declared 'dead' in govt records, deprived of allowance for 3 years

Momena Begum, an 89-year-old woman from Tetulia village in Fulbari upazila, Dinajpur, has been declared 'dead' in government records despite being alive. As a result, she has been deprived of the old age allowance for three consecutive years, forcing her to live in extreme financial hardship.

Locals allege that this suffering has been caused due to the irresponsible recommendation of a public representative and the Social Services Department listing her as deceased without proper verification. Residents have demanded legal action against those involved.

According to sources, the upazila social services department began verifying allowance recipients in August 2023. At that time, Momena Begum was in Dhaka seeking livelihood. When she was not found at home, the then reserved woman councillor, Babli Ara, without any inquiry, sent a recommendation to the municipal mayor mentioning her as 'dead'. Based on that recommendation, the social services department listed her as deceased and stopped her old age allowance.

Upon returning from Dhaka and learning of the matter, Momena Begum contacted the social services office. However, as she was listed as deceased in government records, the allowance could not be reinstated. Later, she staged sit-ins at the municipality and social services office multiple times, but the issue remained unresolved.

Following an investigation by the current administration, she was proven to be alive, and the municipal administrator even issued her a certificate. However, despite submitting that certificate, her allowance has not yet been reinstated.

Momena Begum's daughter-in-law, Amina Begum, said the family is extremely poor. They are struggling to cover her mother-in-law's medical and food expenses. This government allowance was the only hope for her treatment.

The elderly Momena Begum lamented, "I don't know how many more days I'll live. If I could get the allowance money, at least I could buy my medicines. Now I can't even do that due to lack of money."

Upazila Social Services Officer Sanowar Hossain said she was shown as deceased in the server based on documents sent by the municipality. However, the matter has now been corrected. Her allowance will be reinstated as soon as new allocations arrive.

Municipal Administrative Officer Jahangir Alam said this complication arose due to the incorrect recommendation of the then woman councillor, Babli Ara.

The accused councillor's mobile phone was switched off, so her comments could not be obtained.