Anish Begum, 70, a widow from Bhalaswa struggling to make two ends meet with her meagre pension from the civic body, has to ensure she takes regular medication for diabetes and high blood pressure. “Most of the time, the councillor’s men tell us that the pension for this month has not arrived. Of the promised Rs. 1,000 per month, my mother gets just about Rs. 8,000-9,000 per year. Running from pillar...

Soon, differently abled people can book rail tickets online at concessional fares that they are entitled to. At present, differently abled people have to go to railway reservation counters to book tickets if they want to avail the fare concession given by railways. "The railway board is ready with the plan to facilitate online ticket booking for its special passengers," a senior official said. The plan is to issue identity cards with...

-The Hindu Environment Ministry rejected forest clearance to Kalu dam in Thane district While irregularities were surfacing in irrigation projects around Mumbai in early April, the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) rejected forest clearance to the Kalu dam in Murbad taluka of Thane district, which would have submerged around 1,000 hectares of forest land. Work started last October without permission from the MOEF, and Indavi Tulpule...

About 5000 elderly people will stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar here from May 7 to May 11 demanding universal old-age pension for all those above 55 years. They are mobilised by social rights activists under the banner of Pension Parishad. Co-conveners of the parishad Aruna Roy and Baba Adhav, who launched the movement in Pune on February 1, said the changed socio-economic scenario and the rise in longevity had added to...

-The Hindustan Times Members of Parliament had increased their pension three-fold but a universal pension scheme for senior citizens has remained a piped dream. This is despite the UPA government’s promise before 2009 general elections of providing social security net for vulnerables, said National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy, while announcing a national campaign for demanding monthly old age pension of Rs. 2,000 or half of minimum wage of a state, whichever...