Bhubaneswar, May 24 -- In the forested terrain of Mainpat, Surguja district in Chhattisgarh, a heart-wrenching scene has gone viral online. Sukhmania Bai, a woman, is seen carrying her 90-year-old mother-in-law on her back for nearly nine kilometres under the scorching sun to collect her pension from a bank.

It is reminiscent of mythical tales of endurance, reflecting the harsh realities of accessing basic welfare in remote tribal regions of India.

Residents explain that the region's poor transport connectivity forces villagers to traverse rocky paths, streams, and forest stretches on foot. Sukhmania Bai has reportedly been making such arduous journeys for months because pension rules require beneficiaries to be physically present for f...