Bent under the weight of her 90-year-old mother-in-law, a woman trudges through forest paths, rocky stretches and streams under the scorching sun. The visuals are strikingly reminiscent of the old Vikram-Betaal tales – a figure carrying another on their back through a harsh and unforgiving landscape. But this is not folklore. It is a glimpse of the struggle for basic welfare access in a remote part of Chhattisgarh.
The viral video, reported from the Mainpat region in Surguja district, has triggered widespread reactions online and renewed questions over the realities of welfare delivery in remote rural India.
According to local accounts, the woman, identified as Sukhmania Bai, walked nearly 9 kilometres carrying her elderly mother-in-law on her back, so the latter could collect her pension from a bank. Residents say poor transport connectivity in the forested region often forces villagers to travel long distances on foot through rough terrain and streams to access even basic services.
Locals further claimed that Sukhmania Bai has been making similar journeys for months because pension rules require beneficiaries to be physically present at the bank for fingerprint or identity verification before payments can be released.
What has especially caught public attention, however, is the conversation heard in the video.
A man recording the visuals can be heard asking the woman in the local dialect why she was carrying her elderly mother-in-law over such a long distance. Responding to him, the woman says the pension money is released only when the elderly woman is physically brought to the bank.
She further explains that there is no transport facility in the area and that the journey involves crossing streams and uneven forest routes. During the exchange, she says the family receives around Rs 1,500 in pension, sometimes paid together for multiple months.
The woman also suggests that pension money was earlier delivered locally or reached beneficiaries more easily, but that arrangement is no longer functioning, forcing families like hers to undertake physically exhausting journeys for basic welfare support.
The video has triggered strong reactions on social media, with many users questioning why elderly and bedridden pensioners in remote regions are still being required to travel long distances for verification despite repeated claims regarding Digital India initiatives and doorstep delivery of welfare services.
For many viewers, the visuals have come to symbolise the gap between policy announcements and ground realities in tribal and forested regions, where difficult terrain, poor infrastructure and limited administrative access continue to turn even basic entitlements into a struggle.
Source: India Today
