Champua: In a heart-wrenching incident, an elderly woman Monday had to cover a distance of three kilometers just to collect her old age pension from Badanai panchayat office under Champua block in Keonjhar district.
The woman beneficiary, identified as Gula Pradhan, is unable to stand properly and has hunched forward due to old age. The plight of the woman can break anyone’s heart.
According to a source, the elderly woman resides at Gaudasahi village. She walks with the support of a three feet long wooden stick. Every month, she receives a pension of Rs 500 from the state government under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD).
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The local administration has a provision to hand over the pension amount at respective homes for the people who are excessively sick and old. However, the elderly woman walked all the way to the panchayat office all by herself this month, the source added.
On being contacted, Badanai sarpanch Himanshu Sekhar Sae said, “The elderly woman was previously being handed over her pension money of Rs 500 either by panchayat extension officer (PEO) or the panchayat office peon, since when the pension was sanctioned.”
“At times, the elderly woman’s son comes and collects pension from panchayat office. Today, she could not give a convincing answer as to why she came by walking a long distance,” the sarpanch stated.
However, necessary arrangements were made soon and the aged beneficiary was handed over her pension, the sarpanch added.
PNN
