hidden image

She takes the bank to the tribals’ door

F. M. Britto F. M. Britto
23 Nov 2020

As she reaches a village, Salami Shashankar tells a reliable person to inform the people about her arrival. “Bank Madam has come,” word quickly passes around from one to another. 

Searching for large shade of a tree, Salami then sits there spreading the leaves like a mat. As usual, the 27 years old girl has come to the far away village riding the pillion rider on her brother’s bike, carrying about Rs 40,000 and all the necessary documents. She has become the only medium for the tribals to do their bank transaction during the Covid-19 lockdown.

When the villagers gather, she also introduces various state and central governments’ schemes. Salami also assists them to write and submit their applications to benefit the government subsidies.

She also reminds the illiterate villagers during these Covid-19 pandemic days to maintain social distancing, wear masks and  wash their hands with sanitizer she carries along. 

Salami was earlier scared to go alone in the Maoist area, carrying huge amount of cash. “Miscreants could easily murder me for the cash but I kept praying to God. I knew he will save me from danger as I am on my way to help his people,” she says. 

She leaves home every morning at about 8 A. M. After working for five to six hours, she returns to the bank before 4 P.M. so that the bank could enter the account.  

After graduating in 2019, the labourer’s daughter wanted to help the uncared tribals living in remote villages around her Toyaput village in Koraput district of Odisha. 

The 10 days residential training provided by the UNFPA-supported Mission Uday (Sunrise) enthused Salami to commit herself towards serving these hapless people. She borrowed money to purchase a laptop to enhance her knowledge. 

The Odisha Livelihoods Mission then hired her in Dec 2019 as a contractual staff member. Her duty was to assist a self-help group.   

The Laxmipur branch of the State Bank of India then employed her as an outsourced employee to reach out to the 20 remote tribal villages near her village.  She started doing the banking services sitting in a small room of her village panchayat office. 

When the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed, Salami realized that the far away tribals cannot come to the 19 km far away bank to avail their money. Besides lack of public transport, these illiterate villagers also would not be able to maintain the various safety norms. And the poor villagers were also in dire need of money. 

Realizing that she just could not sit there waiting for the people to come to her, Salami wanted at any cost to reach out to her customers. So she began to visit the tribals in their far away villages to distribute their money. 

Affectionately people call her “Bank Madam”. She has thus brought the bank to the tribals’ door. Her selfless services have won her appreciation, not only by the tribal villagers but also her colleagues and officers.     

“The greatest happiness in the world is in helping the people you don't know and seeing them happy.” 

(Serving the marginalized in a remote Chhattisgarh village, F. M. Britto is also a freelance writer and author. He can be contacted at: francismbritto@gmail.com)
 

Recent Posts

In a world scarred by war, hatred, and inhuman leadership, education must humanise, not merely inform. Sanjeevani Vidyapeeth shows how empowering the marginalised with values, character, and competenc
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
07 Jul 2025
The sinking of MSC ELSA 3 off Kerala's coast exposes a toxic mix of corporate impunity, political complicity, and environmental neglect. As hazardous cargo threatens lives and livelihoods, the silence
apicture Joseph Maliakan
07 Jul 2025
In a world slipping into chaos, where leaders trade threats and valorise violence, India mirrors this decay, silencing dissent, weaponising identity, and pushing the marginalised to the margins. The c
apicture Thomas Menamparampil
07 Jul 2025
When Fr. Stan Swamy died on July 5, 2021, the world of truth and justice was shocked and saddened. Those who belonged to this group were convinced that his death was not a natural one, but a premedita
apicture Cedric Prakash
07 Jul 2025
The strength of India is in her democracy; the unity of India is in her diversity; the heritage of India is in her hospitality, the breath of India is in her principle of Ahimsa/non-violence, and the
apicture Fr. L. Michael Collins
07 Jul 2025
Marking June 25 as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' is a calculated distortion of history, designed to vilify Indira Gandhi while deflecting from the ongoing, undeclared Emergency under Modi.
apicture G Ramachandram
07 Jul 2025
When a nation stops examining itself, it stops evolving. When a people stop questioning, they stop progressing. And when truth is replaced by lies, it takes only a few years for credibility to erode —
apicture Robert Clements
07 Jul 2025
The Emergency must be remembered, not as a tool to target a political party but as a lesson against authoritarian excess. Yet, we cannot ignore that worse violations of democratic norms and human righ
apicture A. J. Philip
30 Jun 2025
Fifty years later, India faces a chilling déjà vu with an 'undeclared' Emergency. Freedom of speech is stifled, dissent is suppressed, and institutions are compromised. True democracy demands resistan
apicture Cedric Prakash
30 Jun 2025
Amit Shah's claim that those who speak English will be ashamed evidences that the BJP-RSS is trying to bring down the populace and push India into another Vedic dark age where ignorance and superstiti
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
30 Jun 2025