Faux funding: Flood victims say Watan Card accounts are empty
Flood victims say they approached the Nadra office for cards but initiallly had been turned away.
KOT SABZAL:
Flood victims protested outside Watan Card centres all over Rahim Yar Khan on Tuesday.
A large group of flood victims in Kot Sabzal, Makin Shah, Kunder and Nooramad Abad smashed the windows of a local Watan Card centre for issuing them Watan Cards with empty accounts.
“We protested a month ago and they gave 200 of us cards to ensure that we left them alone. The cards were useless because there was no money in the accounts,” said a protester from Makin Shah, Abdul Waheed.
Flood victims from Kunder said that they had all approached the National Data Registration Authority (NADRA) office for the cards and had initially been turned away.
A family of 25 people who received their cards said that they recently went to cash them in to buy clothes and blankets for winter but found out there was no money in the accounts.
Mehmood Khan said, “We went to the ATM and all of our cards showed no balance. We found out that the same was true for hundreds of others.”
Bashir Ahmed, Abdul Majeed, Sultan Ahmed, Allah Dittta, Muhammad Yousuf, Nazir Ahmed, Jamil Ahmed, Wazir Ahmed, Noor Ahmed, Phool Khan and others said that when they approached Watan Card officials to address the problem, the men misbehaved with them.
“They have put up barriers all around the office so we can’t get in. They have even told the guard outside to only let in people who have Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 to offer up as a bribe,” Phool Khan said.
The protesters also alleged that several patwaris in the district had raised their “asking rate” to register the flood victims’ complaints.
“Patwaris who used to ask for Rs1,000 are now demanding Rs4,000. The Watan Card workers ask for more than that,” said Allah Datta. “We are here to ask them for financial aid and they want bribes worth more than what we are asking for!” he said.
The flood victims said that the Watan Card centre staff had previously “blackmailed” them on the pretext of the survey and then to hand over the cards.
“After paying all that we still got cards with empty accounts,” said Khuda Buksh.
The protesters said that in spite of having the correct token the flood victims were repeatedly asked to ‘come back the next day’. “Haven’t we been through enough with the floods? Why is the government torturing us further,” Buksh said.
The protesters told reporters that after the Revenue and Education departments, the union council secretaries were also pressuring the flood victims to forego their claim to Watan Cards.
“They ask complicated questions and when we can’t answer they ask for a bribe,” they said.
Muhammad Din said that Union Council-D Secretary Khalid Hussain pestered him for over three hours and then asked for money just to sign his application. “When I requested that he forward my file and I be issued a Watan Card he said ,‘I want Rs300 extra to forward the file today’,” Din said, adding “these people have no sympathy for our condition and they are exploiting us.”
Several Watan Cards are currently available at centres around Rahim Yar Khan but flood victims said that staff at the centres would place the cards on the table and taunt them by saying that they would ‘pick and choose’ who would get one. “What they mean is the cards will go to the person who can offer the highest bribe,” Karamat Shah, a flood victim from Kot Addu said.
“Our cards are three months old but there is still no money in our accounts,” the protesters said.
Flood affected people from across the Sadiqabad tehsil have appealed to the chief minister, district coordination officer (DCO) and president to suspend the Watan Card centre staff in Kot Sabzal.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2010.
Flood victims protested outside Watan Card centres all over Rahim Yar Khan on Tuesday.
A large group of flood victims in Kot Sabzal, Makin Shah, Kunder and Nooramad Abad smashed the windows of a local Watan Card centre for issuing them Watan Cards with empty accounts.
“We protested a month ago and they gave 200 of us cards to ensure that we left them alone. The cards were useless because there was no money in the accounts,” said a protester from Makin Shah, Abdul Waheed.
Flood victims from Kunder said that they had all approached the National Data Registration Authority (NADRA) office for the cards and had initially been turned away.
A family of 25 people who received their cards said that they recently went to cash them in to buy clothes and blankets for winter but found out there was no money in the accounts.
Mehmood Khan said, “We went to the ATM and all of our cards showed no balance. We found out that the same was true for hundreds of others.”
Bashir Ahmed, Abdul Majeed, Sultan Ahmed, Allah Dittta, Muhammad Yousuf, Nazir Ahmed, Jamil Ahmed, Wazir Ahmed, Noor Ahmed, Phool Khan and others said that when they approached Watan Card officials to address the problem, the men misbehaved with them.
“They have put up barriers all around the office so we can’t get in. They have even told the guard outside to only let in people who have Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 to offer up as a bribe,” Phool Khan said.
The protesters also alleged that several patwaris in the district had raised their “asking rate” to register the flood victims’ complaints.
“Patwaris who used to ask for Rs1,000 are now demanding Rs4,000. The Watan Card workers ask for more than that,” said Allah Datta. “We are here to ask them for financial aid and they want bribes worth more than what we are asking for!” he said.
The flood victims said that the Watan Card centre staff had previously “blackmailed” them on the pretext of the survey and then to hand over the cards.
“After paying all that we still got cards with empty accounts,” said Khuda Buksh.
The protesters said that in spite of having the correct token the flood victims were repeatedly asked to ‘come back the next day’. “Haven’t we been through enough with the floods? Why is the government torturing us further,” Buksh said.
The protesters told reporters that after the Revenue and Education departments, the union council secretaries were also pressuring the flood victims to forego their claim to Watan Cards.
“They ask complicated questions and when we can’t answer they ask for a bribe,” they said.
Muhammad Din said that Union Council-D Secretary Khalid Hussain pestered him for over three hours and then asked for money just to sign his application. “When I requested that he forward my file and I be issued a Watan Card he said ,‘I want Rs300 extra to forward the file today’,” Din said, adding “these people have no sympathy for our condition and they are exploiting us.”
Several Watan Cards are currently available at centres around Rahim Yar Khan but flood victims said that staff at the centres would place the cards on the table and taunt them by saying that they would ‘pick and choose’ who would get one. “What they mean is the cards will go to the person who can offer the highest bribe,” Karamat Shah, a flood victim from Kot Addu said.
“Our cards are three months old but there is still no money in our accounts,” the protesters said.
Flood affected people from across the Sadiqabad tehsil have appealed to the chief minister, district coordination officer (DCO) and president to suspend the Watan Card centre staff in Kot Sabzal.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 16th, 2010.