Abul Kashem: Dead on paper, Alive and kicking

Md Abul Kashem, a man over 70 from Lohagach village in Ward No. 3 of Sreepur Municipality, Gazipur, has been struggling for years to prove that he is alive after government records reportedly listed him as dead, resulting in the suspension of his old-age allowance.

Kashem, son of late Main Uddin, said he discovered the problem in January 2017 while trying to collect his allowance. Although he had a National Identity (NID) card, he was informed that government records listed him as deceased. Subsequent inquiries at the Upazila Election Office reportedly revealed that he had been recorded as having died in 2014 in Babuganj, Barishal.

According to Election Office records, Kashem had migrated to a union in Babuganj upazila in 2014. In the same year, a person named Azizur Rahman reportedly applied for a death certificate on his behalf, claiming that he had died. He was subsequently declared dead based on a letter signed by a local ward member, and his voter registration details were removed from the system.

Kashem and his family said repeated applications and visits to government offices and public representatives had failed to resolve the problem. Despite being alive and continuing to live in his village, he has yet to have his status officially restored.

Local residents said Kashem is regularly seen in the village. Neighbour Monir Hossain said he had met Kashem and even shared tea with him on the day of the interview. Kashem questioned how he could have been declared dead when no funeral or burial had taken place.

Another local resident, Amir Hossain, who has known Kashem for years, described him as a good man and called on the Upazila Election Office to recognise him as alive and reinstate his name on the voter list. Kashem said he previously received a small amount as an old-age allowance, but the payments had stopped. He said he had repeatedly approached local representatives and the chairman in an effort to resolve the matter but had yet to regain his official status as a living person.

Sreepur Upazila Social Services Officer Bahauddin Ahmed said the Election Office was responsible for resolving the NID-related issue. Once Kashem's status is updated to alive in the records, he can reapply for the old-age allowance through the formal process.

Acting Sreepur Upazila Election Officer Tamanna Rashid said she was holding the post as an additional responsibility and was unaware of how many times Kashem had previously visited the office. However, a review of the documents showed a record stating that he had died in Babuganj following a migration. She said the relevant Upazila office would need to be contacted to correct the NID record.

Gazipur District Election Officer Md Mizanur Rahman said his office would try to resolve the matter if Kashem visited. If the issue could not be settled at the district level, he would be advised on the steps needed to expedite the correction process.

Kashem and his family are seeking the restoration of his voter registration and the reinstatement of his old-age allowance, which has remained suspended amid the unresolved discrepancy in government records.

- RS/NS