A 73-year-old woman with a fractured hip in Farrukhabad was taken to a bank on a handcart to withdraw her pension. After a video of her ordeal went viral and sparked public outrage, the bank manager apologized and delivered the pension to her home, highlighting the systemic challenges faced by elderly pensioners.
It took a viral video and a wave of public outrage, but a bank in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad has apologised after a 73-year-old woman with a fractured hip was seen being taken to a branch on a handcart to withdraw her pension. The old woman’s pension could not reach her, so she travelled to the bank while seated on a wooden handcart and protected from the scorching heat by an umbrella.
The woman was identified as Kishan Pyari, a resident of Fatehgarh’s Hathi Khan locality. Her late husband worked in the electricity department and received a pension after retirement. Following his death, the pension was transferred to her. But collecting it turned into an ordeal.
Kishan Pyari is unable to walk due to a hip fracture. She needed to be physically brought to the bank to finish the pension withdrawal process despite her condition. Online users were offended by the image of a frail elderly woman being dragged through the streets for money that was legally hers.
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Criticism came in after the video went viral on social media. Many users wondered how a system designed to help seniors could have caused such suffering. Others pointed out the irony of an elderly woman having to undertake what looked like an expedition simply to access her pension. The backlash eventually reached the bank.
Branch manager Pravesh Verma said that a mistake had been made in response to growing criticism. Following the video’s popularity, he went to Kishan Pyari’s house, gave her pension, and made a video addressing the problem. Although the bank’s response has been praised, many people on the internet think that the adjustment was only made in response to pressure from the public. After all, kindness ought to become a policy without the need for a viral video. The incident has once again highlighted the challenges faced by elderly and differently abled pensioners across the country.