By B.C. Thimmaiah

Mysore/Mysuru: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel once said, “You will not have a united India if you do not have a good all-India service which has the independence to speak its mind, which has a sense of security… The Constitution is meant to be worked by a ring of service, which will keep the country intact.”

One begins to appreciate the importance of civil service during these challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. It is something Indian civil servants have not faced before in their careers. It is the rarest of the rare. And many IAS and IPS officers are in the frontline — unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The epidemic has brought them to the centre-stage, earning them appreciation from all quarters, especially from the very people who were on the other side of the fence. While the Prime Minister’s Office is the nerve centre working closely with the Ministry of Health, ground-level officers implement the directives and come up with innovative ideas to fight the disease and help the common masses ward off fear and adopt healthy practices.

IAS Officers like Mysuru-born B. Rajeshwari, who is at present the Deputy Commissioner of Dumka District in Jharkhand, have proved that innovation is the key in COVID-19 combat. She, along with a vast network of civil servants, are dealing with a crisis that does not have a precedent.

Rajeshwari, a 2011-batch Jharkhand cadre IAS Officer, has been in the forefront in fighting the epidemic in her district that is dominated by tribal and semi-urban areas where challenges are very high.

Innovative ideas

Apart from her proactive and regular duties as the district head where she leads a team of dedicated officers to implement lockdown norms and to ensure supply of essential items and taking care of the overall health of the district residents, Rajeshwari has come up with innovative ideas like using the District Administration’s social media pages to announce a competition every morning along with its rules and regulations.

These online competitions are aimed at keeping the morale of the people high during the lockdown. Every morning people are given tasks through the official social media page where people can participate in various competitions such as cooking and making of fancy dresses and mehndi design task by staying at home.

Competitors, after completing their tasks, upload the pictures on the same social media page and the winner’s name is announced the following day. Rajeshwari also has plans to give away certificates to the winners once the lockdown is lifted. Such efforts will drive positive thoughts among the people and the children can also express their hidden talents. Such competitions prevent people from becoming depressed.

A way of living

Speaking to ‘Star of Mysore’ over phone from Dumka in Jharkhand yesterday, Rajeshwari said, “Fighting COVID-19 is a golden opportunity as a bureaucrat to really see my strength and use it productively. We all have to live with COVID-19 till we get a vaccine and it is almost going to be a way of living. The previously unheard of measures like lockdown has taught us many things. It has hit all of us hard, especially the poor. But it has prepared us for a long battle till the vaccine comes.”

Coorg Public School and Marimallappa’s

Rajeshwari completed her high school education at Coorg Public School (COPS) in Gonikoppal and passed out in the year 2000. She then studied at Marimallappa’s College in Mysuru. Completing her BA and MA Political Science in an Open University, she cleared her civil service examinations in 2011 from Jharkhand batch.

Her father K. Bheemappa hails from Jade village in Shivamogga while her mother B. Rathna hails from Hubballi. She has two siblings Bharat and Manjunath. It was her dad who was in the Excise Department who goaded her to take up civil services and get into administrative service. Her mother and younger brother Bharat are the residents of Mysuru. Rajeshwari’s husband Suraj Bhagat is a businessman from Maharashtra and her son Rudra has just completed his LKG.

Unheard of epidemic

“I was in the Civil Service Academy for a training and I came back to Dumka district on Mar. 15 when the previously unheard of COVID-19 epidemic was unfolding. Then came the lockdown where the Deputy Commissioners and the Superintendents of Police had to don the role of implementers and at the same time ensure the smooth supply of essential commodities, medicines, taking care of the migrant population and the poorest of the poor,” she said.

 “So far there is not a single Coronavirus positive case in Dumka District but there has been a positive case in a village that borders Dumka. This is a sensitive issue as there is a lot of movements of vegetables across the border and we need to be extra cautious. Basically, these are semi-urban and tribal areas where people are a bit laid back and Dumka district shares borders with West Bengal and Bihar. We have spread awareness and along with Superintendent of Police Ramesh (who is from Ballari in Karnataka), we are conducting various awareness programmes and mock drills,” Rajeshwari explained.

 The lockdown has affected Rajeshwari too. While her father Bheemappa is stuck in Mangaluru, her brother Manjunath is stuck at a village where he is doing social service while her mother Rathna and Bharat stay in Mysuru. “I keep in touch with my family regularly,” she said.

Dumka DC gives husband, son a decent haircut

Sometime back Dumka DC B. Rajeshwari posted a photo on Twitter where she is seen trimming the hair of her husband Suraj Bhagat and son Rudra as the country is under lockdown. After posting the picture on social media she said this is a lesson for all.

 She wrote on Twitter: “Going with the trend!! Found time for this too! While hubby messed up on the kid’s hairdo… I think I did a fine job.” “Salon, parlour, everything is closed. One can do these things at home, you just need a little bit of self-confidence,” she said.

 In the picture she is seen trimming hair of her husband Suraj Bhagat who is sitting on a stool with a towel and she is running the scissors herself. Rajeshwari said that the lockdown is motivating people to remain self-reliant. “One should never depend on others for small things,” she added.