What should a winner do if they live in Kasur with no SBP office? They will have to go to Lahore to claim their prize.
LAHORE: If one is lucky enough to win a prize in a prize bonds draw, and if the prize exceeds Rs10,000, then one can only claim it at State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) office. This seems like red tape because the logic of why anyone would need to redeem the prize above a certain amount escapes at least me.
The SBP has field offices in 16 cities. But what should a winner do if he/she lives in Kasur where there is no SBP office? He or she will have to go all the way to Lahore to claim the prize. I am sure many residents of several small cities like Kasur are prize bond holders and winners of prizes exceeding Rs10,000 must routinely be travelling to the bigger cites to claim their prizes.
The government should review this requirement and remove it, or at least raise the ceiling for which such a requirement is needed to, say, Rs500,000. Prizewinners of amounts below this should be able to claim the prize money from local banks as well as National Saving centres.
Ejaz Ahmad Magoon
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2012.
