More than a half hundred agitated widows, elderly and disabled men and women went on a hunger strike for about 14 hours in Kushtia’s Daulatpur Upazila Social Service Office to protest against their non-recipient of government allowance for around year.

Later, at around 11 pm, on the assurance of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer, the victims lifted their hunger strike.

The incident took place on Tuesday (September 7).

Sources said the people of the lane has card issued by the government to get allowances in the Ward No. 3 of Amdaha village in Piyarpur union of the upazila have not received their government allowance for a year. They even did not get any solution from the chairman of the union parishad, social service officer, upazila nirbahi officer and other concerned.

They claimed they had received their last allowance September 2020. They were supposed to receive message to their cell phone for the allowance. But since then they did not receive any message in their mobile phone.

They complained that the mobile numbers for which the allowance money had been deposited for a year were not theirs. Instead of them, the money has entered the mobile numbers of other people.

Alamul Hossain, a disabled person, said that they had informed the local upazila chairman and even the lawmaker of Kushtia-1 constituency about the incident.

Finally, they started hunger strike at the Upazila Social Service Office on Tuesday morning. Union Parishad Chairman, Upazila Social Service Officer and others concerned tried to break their fast but failed. Later, Daulatpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sharmin Akter went to the spot around 11 pm.

UNO broke their fast by assurance that the problem would be solved.

Piyarpur Union Chairman Abu Yusuf Lalu alleged that the allowance money was embezzled by some unscrupulous employees of the social service office. The entire money has been embezzled by making fake lists instead of those who will get the real allowance.

He demanded that those involved in the incident be brought under the law.

Upazila social service officer Ataur Rahman said the matter was being investigated. He said he thought it would be possible to resolve the issue quickly.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sharmin Akhter told The Daily Star that the problem would be resolved in the next couple of days.