A man in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district claimed that he had to carry his 100-year-old mother on his back to bank to withdraw her pension money from Jan Dhan account, but was turned away due to the lack of a COVID-19 test report.
The incident took place in Ranka town in Garhwa district on Monday. The block administration had set up a COVID-19 test camp outside Vananchal Gramin Bank in Ranka, and those who tested negative for the coronavirus were reportedly allowed to enter the bank.
In order to withdraw three months’ pension amounting ₹1500 under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana deposited in his mother’s Jan Dhan bank account, one Bifan Bhuyan, a daily wage labourer, had gone to the bank.
As he did not find any other means to take his 105-year-old mother — Yatavaria Kunwar — to the bank, Mr. Bhuyan (60) carried her on his back and covered a distance of 4 km from the Kanchanpur village to Ranka.
“When I reached VG Bank at Ranka, the COVID-19 test was being conducted outside the bank. I could not get my mother tested. Bank authorities also did not let me and my mother enter the building. So I carried her back to my village again,” he alleged.
Photographs of Mr. Bhuyan carrying his mother were flashed in local media. Bank authorities took note of the incident, too.
Taking strong exception to the incident, Chief Minister Hemant Soren directed the Deputy Commissioner of Garhwa to assist the 105-year-old woman.
“No beneficiary should face difficulties in availing his or her entitlements. It should be ensured that these types of issues are resolved through partnership of banks and banking correspondents. This kind of incident should not repeat in future,” said Mr. Soren.
The branch manager of VG Bank on Tuesday reached Mr. Bhuyan’s house with the pension amount of ₹1,500 and assured that the old lady did not need to visit the bank again. Money could be withdrawn from the nearest customer service point, he told the family.
“It is incorrect that the man and his centenarian mother were turned away from the bank as they did not possess COVID-19 negative certificate. In fact, the man did not wait for his turn to come because of overcrowding. The Ranka block authorities had set up a camp outside bank for COVID-19 tests on Monday. And tests were facilitated for our bank customers,” said Lakeswar Das Panika, bank manager.
“We did not insist on production of COVID-19 negative certificate. As a precautionary measure, we were coming out of the bank building and providing service to people at the gate of bank,” said Mr. Das Panika.
In a similar incident in June, a woman in Odisha’s Nuapada district, had dragged her 100-year-old mother in a cot to withdraw money from a Jan Dhan account in the month of June.
