Unaware he was getting pension, 80-year-old drought-hit villager finds Rs 36,000 in bank account

Kolhapur: For nearly two years, 80-year-old Bhiku Jadhav, of Pangri village in Satara's drought-prone Man tehsil, remained unaware that he had been enrolled for Centre's Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme and that pension payments were regularly being deposited into a bank account opened in his name.On May 22, TOI reported the plight of the octogenarian — who had to walk miles with a bicycle to fetch water from a borewell amid severe water scarcity in the region. Later, when officials and local residents approached Jadhav to help him access welfare schemes, they found that Bhiku had already been registered under the pension scheme but did not know about it. Further verification revealed that Rs 36,000 had accumulated in an account linked to the scheme."He was not aware that two years ago he was enrolled in the old age pension scheme meant for the elderly citizens. The authorities recently found that he was indeed enrolled in one such scheme, and we obtained his bank details. We found two accounts in his name. There was one account opened by govt while enrolling him for the old age pension. We found that the monthly instalment was deposited regularly and Rs 36,000 was lying in that account.

We helped him get his KYC done and got him the amount withdrawn," said Kailas Gajanan Jadhav, Bhiku Jadhav's nephew.Bhiku, fondly known as Baba, lives alone after the death of his wife a few months ago and has no children. His nephew regularly visits him and helps take care of his needs.Officials said the Centre and state govt jointly fund the monthly pension of Rs 1,500. They added that the administration has started efforts to identify similar cases where elderly beneficiaries may be missing out on benefits due to lack of awareness or procedural issues.Man tehsildar Vikas Ahir said, "Bhiku Devba Jadhav is beneficiary of the central scheme. He has an account in district central cooperative bank, in which the benficiary amount had been deposited regularly till March 2026. If the certificate of existence is furnished, the benefit will continue."