A 70 year old woman walked barefoot with the help of a chair in Odisha to get her pension in State Bank of India (SBI). After the video went viral, SBI has initiated action to ensure she gets her pension delivered at her doorstep.
The video of Surya Harijan, a resident of Jharigaon block of Nabrangpur district of Odisha, walking several kilometres under the hot sun was also shared by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with a strong message to the bank demanding that they act in a humane manner to her.
SBI on Friday noted that Surya had difficulty in withdrawing her old age pension from the bank due to her fading fingerprints. But the bank paid her the amount and promised her that her pension will be delivered at her doorstep in the future.
“As a goodwill gesture, SBI has donated a wheelchair to the pensioner to facilitate her movement,” the bank said in a statement.
It also said that while necessary protocols are already in place to address such situations, the bank has initiated reiteration of the guidelines to all BCs/CSPs (Bank Mitra) to contact their link branches in case of any issues faced by them in serving customers.
The Bank has also been examining options of installing Iris scanners at our BC/CSP (Bank Mitra) channels to address the challenges faced by our Senior Pensioners/ Customers.