Bhubaneswar: In a heart-wrenching plea for justice, Pritish Ranjan Dash, son of retired Obstetrics and Gynecology specialist Dr. Prana Ranjan Dash, took to the micro-blogging platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to highlight his father’s prolonged struggle for pension settlement. His tweet detailed a saga of bureaucratic delays that has spanned over five years, despite relentless efforts to resolve the matter.
Dr. Dash retired from service in 2011 after decades of dedicated service in Odisha’s health sector. However, due to advancing age and declining health, including a current battle with suspected malignancy, he has been unable to personally oversee the resolution of his pension case. Pritish Dash, based in Dubai, has traveled multiple times to Bhubaneswar, fervently appealing to the Health & Family Welfare Department to process his father’s pension and arrears. Unfortunately, his efforts have been met with bureaucratic inertia.
For over five years, I’ve been relentlessly fighting to secure my father’s pension settlement. Dr. Prana Ranjan Dash, a retired O&G specialist, retired in 2011. Unfortunately, due to old age and health issues, he couldn’t personally follow up on his case, and.. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/m4Inw4CJ0P
— Pritish R Dash | ପ୍ରୀତିଶ ର. ଦାଶ (@Pritish_Dash) January 15, 2025
“My father is now battling severe health problems. He is being treated for suspected malignancy,” wrote Pritish Dash. “If there’s any compassion left in the system, I urge the Chief Minister’s Office and the concerned Ministry to help us secure the pension and arrears he has rightfully earned before it’s too late.”
A document shared by Pritish Dash sheds light on the bureaucratic entanglements surrounding Dr. Dash’s case. According to a letter dated September 2, 2024, from the Directorate of Health Services (DHS), Odisha, addressed to the Special Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, the matter pertains to the regularization of Dr. Dash’s leave period from February 19, 1993, to August 30, 1993.
The document states that Dr. Dash was transferred from District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) Sundergarh to Urban Primary Health Center (UPHC) Birmaharajpur, Balangir, in 1993. Following his transfer, he took 193 days of leave on private grounds. The DHS requested the government’s approval to regularize his leave using earned leave (EL), half-pay leave (HPL), and extraordinary leave (EOL) as appropriate, and expedite the communication of orders to finalize his service records — a critical step for pension clearance.
Despite this request, no conclusive action appears to have been taken, leaving the pension file languishing for over a decade.
Compounding the distress is Dr. Dash’s deteriorating health. A diagnostic report from Bagchi Sri Shankara Cancer Centre and Research Institute, Bhubaneswar, dated October 26, 2024, reveals multiple critical health issues. The CT scan of his abdomen and pelvis indicates chronic pancreatitis with calcifications, a large kidney stone, and prostatomegaly with a nodule requiring further evaluation. More alarmingly, he has a Grade II-III wedge compression fracture in his spine with potential metastatic involvement and increased sclerosis in the sacral region, necessitating advanced diagnostic procedures, including PET-CT scans and biopsies.
The plight of Dr. Dash raises broader questions about the challenges faced by retired government employees in securing their rightful entitlements. Despite clear documentation and repeated follow-ups, administrative apathy has stalled his pension processing. As his health declines, time is running out.
Pritish Dash’s public appeal calls for urgent intervention from the Chief Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
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