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SBI responded to Nirmala Sitharaman stating that they are equally sorry to see the video and that they have resolved the issue by providing her pension and wheelchair.

A heart-wrenching video has gone viral on social media showing a senior citizen walking barefoot with the support of a broken chair to collect his pension at a bank in Jarigaon, Odisha. The woman, identified as Surya Harija, was struggling to withdraw money due to broken fingers.

After the video was shared by news agency ANI, the State Bank of India (SBI) responded and assured the pensioner that his pension would be delivered at his doorstep later. The nearest contact branch, SBI Jharigaon, Odisha immediately paid the pension amount by manually debiting the amount from his account.

The branch manager of SBI Jharigaon stated that Surya Harijan used to withdraw his old age pension every month from the CSP point in his village. However, due to old age, his fingerprints did not match at the CSP point. He visited the Jarigaon branch with his relative and the branch manager paid the amount by manually debiting his account. They also decided to hand over a wheelchair to the old woman.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released a video and expressed her concern over the situation. He urged the authorities to act humanely and help the elderly woman. The SBI responded to the minister stating that they were equally sorry to see the video and that they had resolved the issue by providing him with a pension and a wheelchair.


“As per our prescribed protocols, the nearest branch of SBI Jharigaon immediately disbursed the pension amount by manually debiting the amount from the pensioner’s account. He was also assured by the branch manager of getting pension at his doorstep later. As a gesture of goodwill, SBI has gifted a wheelchair to the pensioner to facilitate his mobility,” said an official SBI statement following the minister’s tweet.

“Although necessary protocols are already in place to handle such situations, we have looked into the matter further and initiated a reiteration of guidelines for all our BC/CSPs (Bank Mitra) to approach their liaison branches in case of any issue. The bank is also exploring options to install Iris scanners in our BC/CSP (Bank Mitra) channels to address the challenges faced by our senior pensioners/customers,” the bank added.

The incident has thrown light on the difficulties faced by senior citizens in rural areas in accessing basic banking facilities. This is a reminder that banks must take proactive steps to ensure that their services are accessible to all, regardless of age or physical ability.


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