75-year-old pensioner dies of sunstroke while waiting in queue

ELURU: A 75-year-old man allegedly died of sunstroke at Manchili village in Attili mandal of West Godavari district on Saturday while standing in the queue to get the enhanced pension.

According to locals, Karri Venkata Reddy and his wife are eking out a living by making Pootharekulu (a sweet). Venkata Reddy stood in a queue at the panchayat office from early morning to get his old age pension. 

The staff did not come to the panchayat office on time, forcing the elderly people to wait under the hot sun. Unable to bear the heat, Venkata Reddy collapsed. He was rushed to a private hospital, where the doctors declared him brought dead. 

The panchayat office staff, who came to know of the incident, handed over the pension amount to Venkata Reddy’s family members and left hastily. 

Venkata Reddy’s son Satish Reddy alleged that lack of punctuality on the part of panchayat staff led to the death of his father.