A livewire even at 92 years of age, Sarah J. Cohen, the oldest member of the diminutive Jewish community in the State, is unusually worried these days.
She says her family pension has been withheld by the pension disbursing bank for the past nine months. She has now shot off a complaint to the Pension Wing of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in Delhi seeking its intervention.
“It’s sometime since the pension, which I’m in receipt of ever since my husband passed away in 1999, has been credited into my account. It has made things difficult for me and today, as a last resort, I have sent a complaint,” Ms. Cohen, who runs the souvenir shop ‘Sarah’s Hand Embroidery’ on the pathway to the Paradesi Synagogue in Mattancherry’s historic Jew Town, told The Hindu .
“Jacob Elias Cohen, Sarah aunty’s husband and a popular figure in the Jewish neighbourhood, retired from the Income Tax department in 1972 and died in 1999. Childless, she doesn’t have anyone to support her,” said Thaha Ibrahim, a middle school dropout who the Cohens grew affectionate with and who takes care of the elderly lady.
Ms. Cohen, in her complaint, states that she has not received pension during the period between October 2014 and June 2015 despite producing ‘life certificate’. The pay disbursing bank, a nationalised bank’s branch in Mattancherry, had apparently informed her that “the matter was pending with the bank’s head office in Mumbai”.
The bank officials were unavailable for comment.
Ms. Cohen says the non-payment of pension has caused her mental agony, financial hardship and a lot of tension.
Her bank passbook shows that Rs. 80,601 was credited to her account against the head, ‘Pension for May 2015’ on May 28, and debited (unclear if it was reversed by the bank itself) the same day. Similarly, Rs. 11,621, pension for June 2015 was credited on June 29 and debited early morning the next day.
“How do I buy material for the shop if I don’t get the money due to me?” asked Ms. Cohen, who first came to know of non-payment of pension when her cheque dated 12.05.2015 was dishonoured by the bank for want of cash.
