In a heart-wrenching incident from Odisha’s Keonjhar district, a 70-year-old woman was forced to crawl nearly two kilometers to collect her old-age pension due to her inability to walk. The woman, identified as Pathuri Dehury from Raisuan gram panchayat, made the difficult journey from her home to the panchayat office.

A video showing Dehury crawling on a village road went viral on social media, drawing widespread attention to the plight of the elderly in rural areas. Dehury, who suffers from a debilitating health condition, has been unable to walk for years. However, lacking any form of transportation assistance, she was compelled to undertake the painful journey on her hands and knees to receive her pension.

The incident has sparked outrage and raised concerns about the accessibility of government welfare schemes to senior citizens, particularly those with mobility issues. Local authorities have come under criticism for failing to ensure door-to-door delivery of pensions to elderly beneficiaries like Dehury.

Following the incident, district officials promised to investigate and take corrective measures to prevent such occurrences in the future. “We will ensure that senior citizens and the disabled receive their benefits at home, and no one should face such hardship,” said a senior district official.

This case highlights the urgent need for better implementation of welfare schemes and the provision of transportation or home delivery of services for the elderly and those with disabilities in remote areas of Odisha.

As the video continues to gain traction online, calls for improving the pension distribution system have intensified, with social activists urging the government to prioritize the welfare of vulnerable citizens like Pathuri Dehury.