Ambala, July 8:- The monthly meeting of the Pensioners Welfare Association (NR) Ambala was held today under the chairmanship of Association President Avinash Gupta. A special guest, Comrade Dr. Nirmal Singh, former Divisional Secretary of the Northern Railway Men's Union, was honored with a shawl and a memento upon his retirement on June 30. Members praised the excellent services rendered by him during his tenure as Divisional Secretary. Comrade Nirmal Singh shared his life's struggles with the members, explaining how he rose from a rural background and was inspired by his Punjabi professor, Dr. Rattan Singh Dhillon, and his predecessor, Divisional Secretary C.S. Bajwa.
During the meeting, tribute was paid to the late Maheshwari, Secretary General of Bharat Pensioners Samaj, on his first death anniversary. Members expressed grief while recalling memories of him. Association founder Prem Chand Kashyap remembered the contributions made by Maheshwari for pensioners and termed his demise an irreparable loss. Regarding the ongoing issue of e-passes for railway pensioners, it was noted that while the government has assured consideration of the difficulties faced by less educated and elderly pensioners in obtaining e-passes, no official announcement has been made, leaving the matter unresolved.
Secretary Prakash Chandra shared his views on cyber fraud and discussed ways for the elderly to avoid such scams. He also shed light on the process of filling out forms under the Special Summary Revision (SSR) campaign being run by the Government of India. Additionally, the deadline for filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) by July 31 was also discussed.
The birthdays of seven members falling in the month of July were celebrated with great enthusiasm, and members were honored with gifts. These included Mangat Ram, Prakash Chandra, Ravinder Mehta, Surinder Nijhawan, and S.K. Bhoria. President Avinash Gupta thanked all the members and welcomed Sunil Kumar, a new member who joined the association after his retirement.