Tribal woman carries elderly mother-in-law 4km for bank KYC to get pension

RAIPUR: Braving scorching heat and bureaucratic red tape, a tribal woman in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district walked nearly four km with her 90-year-old mother-in-law on her back — not for any emergency treatment, but to complete KYC formalities at a bank, so the elderly woman could receive her Rs 500 monthly pension. The bank had stopped delivering the pension at the woman’s house for the last four months over the KYC process. The incident, reported from Mainpat block on Friday, went viral over two days. The woman was identified as Sukhmaniya of Jangalpara village and the clip shows the woman, who is in her late 50s, trudging along the road with her frail mother-in-law strapped to her back. Sukhmaniya said a Bank Mitra earlier delivered the pension at home every month, but payments had stopped for the past four months because the KYC process was pending. Left with no other option, she carried the elderly woman to the Central Bank of India branch in Mainpat town, she said, breaking down in tears under the scorching sun. Officials said the pension was last delivered at her home in Jan of this year. After Sukhmaniya reached the bank on May 22, KYC formalities were completed and the pending pension amount of Rs 2,000 for four months was released. Mainpat Janpad Panchayat CEO Khushboo Shastri told reporters that the local bank has seven Bank Mitras to deliver pensions at the doorstep of beneficiaries that cannot visit branches of the bank. She said the elderly woman would receive her pension at home from next month. The video has also drawn political criticism, with former deputy chief minister T S Singh Deo saying leaders who visit people’s homes seeking votes must also ensure that elderly beneficiaries receive pensions at their doorstep.