Officialdom could do with lessons in compassion

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With the avalanche of bad news, we may have become accustomed, even hardened, to reports and nothing may shock us any longer. Yet, this is a report that should surely evince outrage, introspection and action from those responsible.

A man in Odisha's Keonjhar district walked three kilometres under the scorching sun, carrying his dead sister's skeletal remains on his shoulder to a bank in an attempt to retrieve R19,300 from her account, reports stated.

His sister held an account at a bank. She died two months ago. Her husband and only child died earlier, leaving her brother as her sole surviving relative.

When this man approached the bank to withdraw the Rs 19,300 remaining balance in his sister's account, the bank manager refused, saying either the account holder must be present or he must furnish legal heir documents.

This tribal man with no education had no death certificate or succession papers and returned helpless. He then dug out his sister's remains, wrapped the skeleton in cloth, and walked to the bank in blazing heat.

This sight was met with anger and outrage. While bank rules are rules, there should have been some kind of solution, when it was obvious that this uneducated man had no papers.

The bank could have directed staffers to go to his residence and verify the claims about his sister. They could have taken the headman or elders, who often take decisions in village units, into confidence and cross-checked with them.

Compassion and common sense should have taken over here.