SBI said Nirmala Sitharaman was similarly distressed after seeing the video and resolved the issue by delivering her pension and wheelchair to her doorstep.
A heartbreaking video of an elderly man walking barefoot on a broken chair to collect his pension at a bank in Jaligaon, Orissa, has gone viral on social media. A woman identified as Surya Harijan was having trouble withdrawing money because she broke her finger.
After the video was shared by news agency ANI, the State Bank of India (SBI) responded, ensuring that pensioners’ pensioners will be delivered to their doorsteps in the future. Her nearest link branch, SBI Jharigaon, Odisha, immediately paid the pension amount by manually debiting the amount from her account.
The branch manager of SBI Jharigaon said Surya Harijan was withdrawing her monthly old-age pension from a CSP point in her village. However, due to her advanced age, her CSP points did not match her fingerprints. She visited the Jaligaon branch with her relatives and the branch manager paid her amount by manually debiting her account. She also decided to give her wheelchair to an elderly woman.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted the video, expressing concern about the situation. She called on the authorities to act humanely and help the elderly woman. SBI responded to the minister, saying he had seen the video and was similarly distressed and had resolved the issue by delivering her pension and her wheelchair to her doorstep.
“Following the protocol set by us, the nearest link branch, SBI Jharigaon, immediately paid the pension amount by manually debiting the amount from the pensioner’s account. , was reassured that the pensions would be delivered to our doorstep.As a gesture of goodwill, SBI has donated wheelchairs to facilitate the mobility of the pensioners,” the SBI said in an official statement after the minister’s tweet. said in a statement.
“While we already have the necessary protocols in place to deal with situations like this, we have become more aware of this issue and have started repeating the guidelines to all BC/CSPs (Bank Mitra) to ensure that any issues arise. Banks are also considering the option of installing iris scanners in their BC/CSP (Bank Mitra) channels to address the challenges faced by senior pensioners/customers We do,” added the bank.
The incident shed light on the difficulties faced by older people in rural areas in accessing basic banking facilities. Recall that banks need to take proactive steps to ensure that services are accessible to all, regardless of age or physical ability.
