Denial of pensions dominates grievances at Praja Seva programme in Mangaluru - The HinduPublished - September 26, 2026 07:43 pm IST - MANGALURUSati, a resident of Urwa Store in Mangaluru, and her relative were among those who complained of being denied pensions after their status changed from BPL to APL during the Praja Seva programme held at the Mangaluru City Corporation council hall on Saturday. Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath, Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan and MCC Commissioner Rahul Ratnam Pandey are seen. | Photo Credit: Raghava M.Denial of old age, widow, disability, and other pensions following the reclassification of beneficiaries from Below Poverty Line (BPL) to Above Poverty Line (APL) cards dominated the 89 grievances filed during the Praja Seva programme for Mangaluru taluk. The programme was held at the Mangaluru City Corporation Council hall and was chaired by Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath.Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan, who attended the programme, told The Hindu that the two earlier Praja Seva programmes also received grievances regarding the denial of pensions. “These grievances about denial of pension will be collated and a workable solution for providing pension to these needy people will be proposed by the district administration to the State Government in a week’s time,” Mr. Darshan said.A homemaker from Ballur was in tears over the denial of pension to her son, who has more than 75% physical disability. Officials said that under the new norm barring pension for APL cardholders, they have stopped pension to the Ballur resident’s son. “Officials cannot do much here because of the directions of the State government,” Mr. Kamath told the woman, while asking Mr. Darshan to sympathetically consider her application for restoration of pension for the boy, who is heavily dependent on his parents.Similarly, Mr. Kamath asked Mr. Darshan to restore pension to the mentally disabled son of Sati, a resident of Urwa Store in Mangaluru, who is also not getting pension as he belongs to the APL category.P. Ismail, an elderly man from Adyar-Kannur, said the payment of old-age pension stopped eight months ago when his BPL card got converted to an APL card. A woman resident from Bajpe said that despite holding a BPL card, she was not getting widow pension for the last six months. Vedavati, a resident of Shakti Nagar, said she had not been getting widow pension for the last eight months.A homemaker said that when her daughter took a loan, her BPL card was converted to an APL card. She was now unable to apply for a fresh BPL card, which she needs as she is staying separately from her daughter. An employee of a rural development project said her card changed from APL to BPL as she had filed an income tax return related to her monthly salary of ₹7,000.Addressing the grievance about the difficulty in securing ICU beds in Government Wenlock Hospital, Mr. Darshan and District Health Officer H. Thimmaiah said the hospital was getting patients from across the State and Keralam. “The Health Department is coming out with an app that gives availability of ICU beds in Wenlock to district heads in the State and northern part of Keralam. With prior intimation to the hospital, arrangements for ICU beds for needy patients can be made,” Mr. Darshan said.To the grievance about the poor upkeep of parks and water bodies in Mangaluru, Mr. Darshan said the district administration was working out ways, including calling upon private establishments, for their maintenance and upkeep.Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Deputy Commissioner (Development) Naresh Shenoy told a delegation of the District Ex-Servicemen Association that construction of a retaining wall for the Association building, off Light House Hill Road, would start in 15 days. MCC Commissioner Rahul Ratnam Pandey said he would hold a meeting in a month’s time to address grievances, including the removal of four autorickshaw stands around the old Central Market building.Published - September 26, 2026 07:43 pm ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }