Odisha: A 100-year old mother was dragged by her daughter on a cot in order to withdraw money from the Bank

The elderly daughter of the woman was forced to make the rough journey in scorching heat after the bank allegedly requested the 100-year-old beneficiary‘s physical verification and refused to release the pension without it.

The coronavirus pandemic, this time from Odisha, has thrown up another distressing image of poverty, desperation and an insensitive system.

An elderly woman is seen dragging her 100-year-old mother on a cot to a bank to withdraw her pension money in a video that recently surfaced from Bhubaneswar’s Nuapada district, some 433 km.

The bank allegedly asked for the 100-year-old beneficiary‘s physical verification and refused to release the pension without it, thus forcing the young woman to embark on an arduous journey in scorching heat.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package announced by the Centre, Ms. Baghel had received approximately 1,500. Monthly assistance was deposited to her Jan Dhan bank account from April to June.

Her daughter, Punjimati Dei, visited the bank on June 9 to withdraw the amount since her mother was in bedridden. When physical verification was required, and no choice was available, Ms. Dei put her mother on a cot and dragged her along the bank lane. She could withdraw her money, then. Since then, a video of Ms. Dei dragging her mother on a cot has gone viral.

The chairman of the bank, expressing remorse over the incident, said the branch manager had no intention of threatening him, but the incident, which resulted from a communication disconnect, ended up putting the bank in poor light. Hence, the manager of the bank was suspended.