Coronavirus lockdown: Karnataka-born woman IAS officer rendering yeoman service in Jharkhand

Eighty-year-old Laxmi Devi, a childless widow, stayed alone in Jharkhand’s second capital - Dumka. Suffering from arthritis, she could not move without the help of a wheelchair. The extended lockdown to contain COVID-19 only added to her woes once she ran short of cash and foodgrains.

She called up her relative, who, in turn, spoke to the Deputy Commissioner of Dumka. Within an hour, two officials from the district administration were at the doorsteps of Laxmi Devi with loads of foodgrains (rice, pulses, flattened rice), fruits (oranges, apples, grapes), Horlicks and biscuits.

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The octogenarian lady showered her blessings and conveyed her gratitude to the young Deputy Commissioner, a 2011-batch Jharkhand cadre IAS officer, Rajeshwari B, who has been tirelessly taking care of the needy in the tribal-dominated Jharkhand.

“This is the least we can do for the needy,” the woman IAS officer, who originally hails from Mysore, told Deccan Herald over the phone.

She then rushed to Dumka Medical College and Hospital to check the status of Virology Laboratory establishment. “It’s a new institution and labs are not yet ready, but the State Health Department aims to establish a COVID-19 testing lab in Dumka at the earliest,” she averred.

Asking everyone to maintain social distance as this was the only panacea to fight COVID-19, she then rushes to Gandhi Maidan, where haat (vegetable market) is regularly organised. She asks her officials to keep a tab on those (sellers and buyers) in the market through drones. “Ensure everyone maintains a one-metre distance and wears masks. Also ensure other lockdown rules are not violated,” she instructs further.

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Adept at multi-tasking, the 1985-born IAS officer, who studied at Udupi and Coorg in Karnataka, finds time for her family too. “Going with the trend… While hubby messed up on the kid's hair do, ..I think I did a fine job,” she tweeted while posting pictures of hubby’s hair cut during the lockdown. Her tweet (posing as hubby’s hair-dresser) has earned 1600 likes.

Earlier, she earned plaudits by the Union Government for making Ramgarh, where she previously served as Deputy Commissioner, as the first district in Jharkhand to become an open defecation free (ODF) district.