His family says cheque handed to them was turned down at bank for lack of money

Srinagar: Bashir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Pampore, was diagnosed with terminal disease early this year and his family wanted to shift him outside the Valley for specialised treatment. An employee in Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC), he applied for General Provident Fund (GP Fund) for his treatment in November. But since then, his family has been waiting in vain for the amount.
According to Dar’s family comprising wife and two sons, inordinate delay to get the money has delayed the treatment plans. The J&K Funds Organisation, which maintains GP Fund accounts of J&K government employees, has been consistently delaying crediting his hard earned (Rs 15 lakh) into Dar’s bank account in the face of medical emergency.
His case was cleared by the JKPCC, Dar’s wife, Naseema Akhter and two sons told Kashmir Reader. But the Funds Organisation consumed time and after repeated pleas, they handed a cheque on December 7 only to be turned down by J&K Bank, said the family. The officials at the Bank, according to the family, told them that the Funds Organisation had not credited the amount.
Naseema said she had to sell her earrings on her husband’s treatment in absence of money. “My brother gave me Rs 10,000 a few days ago and we spent them. Now I am telling my sons to do something. We were short of food a few days ago,” she told Kashmir Reader.
The family needs at least Rs 25 lakh for Dar’s treatment as told by the doctors, but with Dar’s GP Fund of Rs 15, 96, 571 denied by the authorities so far, the treatment looks too distant.
Naseema said she was offered financial support by her relatives but she is hesitant to accept it.
“I should at least have some minimum amount with me and what if the relatives backtrack on the help,” she said.
For Dar’s son, Sajad, the EPF was the “only hope for the treatment”, which owing to the Fund Organisation’s dilly dallying tactics now “looks like only a joke now”.
Commissioner Secretary Labour and Employment department, Saurabh Bhagat assured he will take up the matter on priority basis.

Irshad Khan