Harapriya Devi and (below) her late husband Janakinath Nanda Choudhury

Paradip, Oct. 4: Harapriya Devi, 77, the widow of an English lecturer in Bhubaneswar’s BJB College, has passed the test of endurance.

In a case of belated justice and patient wait, Harapriya has finally received family pension after fighting bureaucratic red tape for 51 years since her husband died in 1962.

Janakinath Nanda Choudhury, Harapriya’s husband, had served in the state’s premier college from 1954 to 1962. Choudhury died on June 3, 1962, after drowning in the Mahanadi river at Jobra near Cuttack.

Even since tragedy struck Harapriya, her encounter with labyrinthine complexities with governmental red tape had begun.

She had to run from pillar to post to get the family pension benefit. The authorities concerned, however, remained insensitive towards the widow’s plight. Though the ordeal was excruciating, she kept fighting for her legitimate claims.

“My husband died at the age 29. At that time, I was 26-year-old. I had two children to bring up. I took up a job of a teacher to rear them. At the same time, I kept on demanding the pension,” she recalled with a tinge of emotion.

“I used to visit the higher education directorate every year from time to time. The official version was that I was not entitled to the family pension scheme. The officials had put forth their argument that my husband had not completed the 10-year-service stint to come under the pension scheme,” she said.

Harapriya, on the other hand, argued that the Orissa Pension Rules had been amended and it covered pension to families of state government employees, who retired or died before January 1, 1964.

“Finally, the officials conceded to my claim. I have been sanctioned Rs 6,000-a-month pension. Besides Rs 6.70 lakh has also been sanctioned as arrears,” she said.

Higher education minister Badri Narayan Patra said: “We are happy to know that the college lecturer’s widow has got her due. Officials of the department have been asked to expeditiously settle the post-retirement, gratuity and pension claims of college teachers and non-teaching staff members.”