Odisha: Woman ‘forced’ to drag elderly mother to bank

By-Avinash Mohanty
BALANGIR: A video clip showing a 60-year-old woman dragging her 80-year-old bedridden mother to a bank in Nuapada district to withdraw Rs 1500 from her Jan Dhan account has gone viral, forcing district collector Madhusmita Sahu to seek answer from the bank manager.
The 37-second video shows the elderly woman, lying on a cot, being dragged through the streets of Bargaon village, under Khariar block of the district, to Utakal Gramya Bank.It also shows Gunja Dei berating the bank officials for forcing her to drag her ailing mother, Labhe Baghel, to the bank to withdraw the money.
The incident came into light after the video went viral on social media on June 10. “I requested the bank manager to allow me to withdraw the amount on behalf of my mother as she is not able to come to the bank. They refused to do so, saying they need physical verification. I was told a bank staff would visit our house to pay the money,” Gunja said. She claimed she waited for some days for the bank staff to show up, but no one came. On June 8, she again went to the bank. She had an argument with the bank manager Ajit Kumar Pradhan after he refused to hand over the money to her. “The manager told me that a bank staff will visit our house the next day,” Gunja said. When that didn’t happen either, she decided to drag her mother to the bank.
“I had told Gunja that one of our staff would visit her home and give her the money. But due to the work load, the person could not go. Next day, Gunja arrived at the bank with her mother lying on a cot even before the bank opened,” said Ajit, defending their action. Sources said Gunja lives with her husband and ailing mother. Every month Gunja withdraws Rs 500 deposited in her mother’s account under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) to meet her medical expenses.