Hooghly, 21 August (H.S.): Protests were reported from several parts of Hooghly district on Friday as women claiming to be eligible beneficiaries of the Annapurna Bhandar scheme took to the streets alleging that they had not received the promised financial assistance.

In Uttarpara, a large group of women staged a protest outside the Uttarpara Municipality office and blocked the GT Road, leading to long queues of vehicles on the busy route. Police reached the spot and held discussions with the protesters. Following police intervention, the situation was brought under control and traffic movement gradually returned to normal.

Meanwhile, a large number of women gathered outside the Serampore Sub-Divisional Officer’s office, seeking clarification over the non-receipt of Annapurna Bhandar payments. Many of the women reportedly approached the office with their grievances and demanded that eligible beneficiaries receive the financial assistance at the earliest.

In Arambagh, women also gathered outside the local MLA’s office and staged a protest over the issue. The protesters demanded that their cases be examined and that pending payments be released to eligible beneficiaries.

A similar protest was reported from Goghat-II Block, where women gathered outside the BDO office alleging that they had not received the scheme benefits. Police intervened after the situation became tense and attempted to pacify the protesters.

The protesters claimed that despite being eligible under the scheme, payments had not reached their bank accounts. They demanded that the administration look into the reasons behind the delay and ensure that genuine beneficiaries are not deprived of the assistance.

The protests across multiple locations have brought renewed attention to the process of beneficiary verification and disbursement under the Annapurna Bhandar scheme. The administration’s response and the steps taken to address the grievances of eligible beneficiaries are now being closely watched.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey