Bhubaneswar, Oct. 15: Bijaylaxmi Pal has never seen what alphabets look like or the colourful illustrations in books. But years of hard work have made this 35-year-old become the first visually challenged Odisha Education Service teacher in the state.

Pal passed the written test and interview conducted by the Odisha Public Service Commission, securing 47th rank in the unreserved merit list. She also has MA, BEd, MEd, MPhil degrees and has qualified the National Eligibility Test. This year, she was selected for the Odisha Education Service (OES).

She has joined as the headmistress of Elementary Teachers' Training Institute at Pipili in Puri.

Sources at the Institute of Social Work and Research, a pioneer institution in community extension and social work education, confirmed that Pal was the first visually challenged OES teacher in the state.

However, it was not all smooth sailing. Initially, the state government was apprehensive about her abilities and put a question mark on her appointment. On August 2, when chief minister Naveen Patnaik gave out job letters to the selected candidates, the school and mass education department held back Pal's appointment, stating that she was blind.

"It was a painful day for me. I returned empty handed and teary eyed. It is not the blindness, but the attitude towards the blind that is the hardest to bear," said Pal.

However, due to the persistent efforts of Sanyas Kumar Behera, general secretary of the social work institute, Pal finally got the appointment letter from the department and was posted as headmistress of the Elementary Teachers' Training Institute.

"She is the first visually challenged OES in the state. It will inspire other persons with disabilities not to think negatively, rather to focus on their inherent talent. Although she lost her salary for two months, it was a gain for the entire disability fraternity in the state," said Behera, who is also visually impaired.

The institute's members today discussed Pal's case at a programme organised to mark the White Cane Day. The event was organised in collaboration with Anand Charitable Trust, Bichhand Trust of Welfare and Vivid Action.

A meeting was also conducted to sensitise police and the public about the safe travelling of the blind persons. This was followed by a white cane march by the visually disabled from Mahabodhi Society up to Ram Mandir Square.