Direct benefit transfer (DBT) system has become a major problem for thousands of beneficiaries of the old-age pension scheme who are unable to visit banks in the rural pockets of Odisha.
The lack of banking facilities and the absence of Bank Mitra have aggravated the problem. Digitisation of bank accounts couldn’t help the rural beneficiaries as they don’t have smartphones. While many elderly pensioners were seen being assisted by their relatives to reach the nearest bank, some have to walk the distance all on their own.
A video of an elderly woman, Surya Harijan, from Jharigaon block of Odisha’s tribal-dominated Nabarangpur district struggling to reach the bank as she walked barefoot in scorching heat with the support of a broken chair on April 14 went viral.
It caught the attention of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman who asked the SBI on April 20 to be more humane in its approach towards the elderly.
The bank finally ensured that the woman got her money without having any trouble. She was also given a wheelchair and assured that the bank manager would deliver her pension to her doorstep.
But the Union finance minister may be unaware that thousands of elderly pensioners in the state face similar problems on a regularbasis.
In a similar incident in Kendrapara on April 22, an elderly man named Gangadhara Parida, 83, had to be carried in a basket across a river to receive his pension from the bank.
His elder brother Rangadhara Parida, 85, also had to be carried by people to help him cross the river and reach the bank.
“Our panchayat, Ekamania panchayat, has three villages — Nalapahi, Ekamania and Dakshinadiha. It is surrounded by Brahamani, Kharasrota and Hansua rivers from all sides. The local bank is located at Keradagada, nearly three kilometres away from our panchayat.
“Elderly pensioners have no option but to depend on the younger members of the family to take them to the bank. We take them to the river bank in an autorickshaw and help them cross the river and reach the bank. However, it is dangerous as the river is nearly 600 metres wide,” Ananta Karan, a local resident, said.
Rangadhara Parida told The Telegraph: “Earlier, the village-levelworker (VLW) used to come to our panchayat school and distributethe money every month.
“But after the DTB was introduced, we have to go to the bank every month to get the money. I am unable to walk and one of my legs is also fractured.
“My grandsons carry me either in a basket or on their shoulders, help me cross the river and take me to the bank. I receive Rs 500 as pension but I spend Rs 200 to reach the bank.”
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has urged the Centre to pay the elderly in cash at their doorsteps. Odisha finance secretary Vishal Kumar Dev told The Telegraph: “Chief minister has already taken up the issue and urged the Centre that old age pension should be given to the elderly people in cash. Besides, at least all panchayats should have a bank. We don’t have banks in 62 per cent of the existing gram panchayats.”
Kendrapara sub-collector Niranjan Behera assured that the problem of elderly pensioners of Ekamania panchayat would be resolved soon.
“In consultation with banks, we will send Bank Mitras to their panchayats to hand over the money there. Our officials will help in identification.”
However, officials pointed out that the problem of getting an old-age pension is not confined to just one district. There are many other problems.
“Sometimes because of old age, the beneficiaries’ fingerprints do not match and Bank Mitra refuses to give the money. But in the earlier system, VLW used to come to the panchayat and identify the beneficiary making the disbursement of money a smooth affair.”
