In April 2025, when the bodies from the Pahalgam terror attack returned home, governments across India promised swift help to grieving families. But months later, some of those promises remain stuck in files.

In Odisha’s Balasore district, Priyadarshini Acharya – whose husband Prashant Kumar Satpathy was among the 26 killed in the attack – is still waiting for the government job the state promised her.

Satpathy worked as an accounts assistant at the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Balasore. He had travelled to Pahalgam on vacation with his wife and child. After he was killed, Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Manjhi visited the family’s village, Isani, and attended the funeral. Speaking to the media then, he assured the family of financial assistance and a government job for Acharya.

This is not an isolated instance. Last month, Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde told officials to expedite the matter of a promised job to Asawari Jagdale, who had lost her father Santosh Jagdale.

‘Jobs not matching profession’

Acharya, an MBA in finance, has received Rs 20 lakh in compensation from the Odisha government. According to her, officials had asked her in May last year which department she would prefer to work in. She had told them she wanted a permanent role in the Women and Child Development Department, where she has been working on contract as a block project coordinator since 2018. 

The same month, the Balasore district administration collected documents from her for appointment as a supervisor in the department. Anjan Kumar Das, additional secretary in the General Administration and Public Grievances Department, also wrote to the department recommending her appointment.

Balasore district magistrate Suryavanshi Mayur Vikash said Acharya’s documents were sent to the Women and Child Development Department in June 2025 and are still under process. “She is also appearing for an examination for the department, which is delaying her appointment,” he said.

Vikash added that Acharya had also been offered a job in the private sector during this period, but declined it because she wanted a permanent position in the WCD department.

Acharya, however, denied that she was appearing for any departmental examination and said the jobs she was offered “don’t match my profession”. “I’m a single mother. Working in the private sector would be difficult for me. I have been working in the WCD Department for years, so I want a job there.”

Newslaundry sent a questionnaire to Commissioner-cum-Secretary Mrinalini Darswal. This report will be updated if a response is received.

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