Tribal Woman Walks 3 Km Carrying Elderly Mother-In-Law To Bank In Chhattisgarh
Pension delay forces tribal woman to carry elderly mother-in-law to bank.
A tribal woman from Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district walked nearly 3 kilometres carrying her 90-year-old mother-in-law on her back to a bank branch in Mainpat to collect a pending pension. The incident, which took place on Friday, later gained widespread attention after a video of the emotional journey went viral on social media, highlighting the hardships faced in accessing basic financial services in rural areas.
The woman, identified as Sukhmaniya, a resident of Jangalpara village in the Kunia area and believed to be in her late 50s, reportedly set out on foot to reach the Central Bank of India branch in Mainpat town. According to her account in the viral video, she had not received the monthly pension of ₹500 for the past three to four months. She said earlier a “Bank Mitra” used to deliver the pension to her home, but the service was stopped due to incomplete KYC (Know Your Customer) formalities.
The long delay in pension disbursal had left the elderly beneficiary without financial support, forcing the family to take extraordinary steps. Sukhmaniya said she had no option but to carry her mother-in-law herself as there was no accessible transport facility and the bank branch was several kilometres away. The journey through rural roads underscored the difficulties faced by elderly and vulnerable citizens in accessing banking services.
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Officials later confirmed that the pension service had been disrupted due to pending documentation requirements. Mainpat Janpad Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Khushboo Shastri stated that the pension had last been delivered at the family’s home in January and was stopped thereafter. She added that the delay occurred because KYC formalities were not completed in time, resulting in the suspension of doorstep delivery services.
After Sukhmaniya reached the bank on May 22 carrying her mother-in-law, staff reportedly completed the necessary KYC formalities at the branch. The bank then released the pending pension amount of ₹2,000 covering four months. Officials also confirmed that the branch has multiple Bank Mitras assigned to deliver pensions at the doorstep for beneficiaries unable to travel, and the service would be resumed for the family from the next cycle.
The incident has sparked discussions on rural banking accessibility and welfare delivery systems in remote regions. Authorities have assured that corrective measures will be taken to prevent such situations in the future, ensuring that elderly pensioners are able to receive their entitlements without physical hardship or administrative delays.
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