Keonjhar, August 7: A decade-long wait for family pension may finally end for a Juang family in Odisha's Keonjhar district after a report published in 'Prameya' prompted swift action by the bank and the administration.

Following the report, officials of the State Bank of India (SBI) brought four members of the deceased employee's family to the Keonjhar Treasury Office and submitted all pending documents. The papers were forwarded to the Accountant General (AG) office in Bhubaneswar on Friday with a recommendation for immediate processing. Treasury officials said the family of Manoj Juang is likely to receive the pension soon.

The family has been awaiting the pension since 2016 after the death of Sunari Juang, who had been receiving family pension following the demise of her husband, Nageswar Juang, a former employee under the Keonjhar Forest Division, in 2009.

Manoj, the eldest among six siblings, had applied for the pension after his mother's death and submitted all required documents, including the Pension Payment Order (PPO). Although the Forest Department approved the claim, the pension remained pending as the original PPO was not returned to the Treasury by the bank.

After the issue came to light, SBI Branch Manager Mamita Nayak informed the Treasury that the original PPO had been misplaced and requested that the photocopy available with Manoj be accepted for processing. Treasury Officer S. Himani said the recommendation has been sent to the AG office for early approval, raising hopes that the family's 10-year-long struggle for pension will soon come to an end.