80-year-old man crawls to panchayat office to avail old-age pension in Kendrapara

In a shocking incident, an 80-year-old man had to crawl all the way to the local panchayat office to avail his old-age pension.

The distressing incident reportedly occurred at Koro Gram Panchayat in Kendrapara district on Thursday.

The elderly man has been identified as Sridhar Sahu.

As per reports, Sridhar found himself in this dire situation after panchayat officials declined to allow his daughter to collect the pension on his behalf.

This month, Sridhar's usual practice of sending his daughter was not accepted by the panchayat officials, leaving the octogenarian no choice but to make the arduous journey himself. 

Witnesses expressed concerns for Sridhar crawling to the office, highlighting his distress and prompting widespread attention and sympathy across the region.

Official Response

The public uproar resulted in immediate action from the Panchayat executive officer, who met Sridhar halfway and provided his pension directly. 

"I didn't have any money to buy medicines. As the panchayat officials didn't allow my daughter to collect the pension for me, I was forced to crawl on the road to reach the office," said Sridhar.

"As the verification was not done last month, I asked his daughter to wait till the verification is completed so that I could provide the amount at the beneficiary's house. However, his daughter quarrelled with me. The beneficiary could not wait till the completion of verification process and crawled on the road to get his pension," said Panchayat executive officer Bijaylaxmi Pathi.

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Despite the government’s directives to ensure that welfare pensions are disbursed at the doorsteps of beneficiaries, the plight of the elderly man exposes the negligent attitude of government officials.

Concerns have been raised about the need for systemic changes to prevent such occurrences and guarantee the dignity and welfare of elderly citizens.