IAS officer couple DCs of Mysuru and Mandya

After IAS officers C Shikha and Dr M N Ajay Nagabushan, neighbouring districts of Mysuru and Mandya, once again have a couple, serving as deputy commissioners.

In a latest development, the state government put a full stop to the controversies and blame game between two women IAS officers Rohini Sindhuri and Shilpa Nag, by transferring them. In their place, Dr Bagadi Gautham and G Lakshmikant Reddy have been appointed as deputy commissioner and MCC commissioner respectively. They took charge in Mysuru, on Sunday.

Incidentally, Bagadi Gautham is the husband of S Aswathi, serving as Deputy Commissioner of Mandya district. While, Aswathi, 2013 batch, took charge as Mandya DC on February 17, 2021, Dr Gautham, 2009 batch, has been appointed as the DC of Mysuru on June 7 (Saturday night). It was a love marriage for Aswathi from Kerala and Dr Gautham from Andhra Pradesh. They entered into wedlock on February 14, Valentine’s Day in 2019.

Soon after taking charge, Dr Gautham said that his priority is to contain Covid in Mysuru district. “I have faced such challenges during my tenure as DC in Chikkamagalur. Covid cases were brought to zero, during the first wave. We had also managed the flood situation,” he explained.

By getting vaccinated within two days of assuming charge, Aswathi instilled confidence among the residents of Mandya district, to get vaccinated for Covid-19. It may be mentioned that there was a lot of hesitancy, initially, among the people about the vaccination. She has taken up several awareness drives on wearing masks and following Covid norms. She has also interacted with Covid patients, virtually.

The other couple, who served as DCs of Mysuru and Mandya were C Shikha and Dr M N Ajay Nagabushan, respectively. Shikha was the first woman IAS officer of Mysuru and served from 2013 and 2016.

Shikha was described as an efficient and upright officer. It may be mentioned that Shikha lodged a complaint against former Zilla Panchayat president K Marigowda, a close confidante of then chief minister Siddaramaiah, for intimidating her in the public. Despite pressure, she refused to withdraw her complaint. She was transferred in August 2016.

Dr Ajay Nagabushan, served as the DC of Mandya, during the same period. Earlier, Dr Ajay had also served as Mysuru Zilla Panchayat CEO from 2012. Shikha and Dr Ajay were transferred at the same time in 2016. While Shikha moved to Social Welfare department, Dr Ajay was appointed as commissioner for Food and Civil Supplies. Coincidentally, both Dr Gautham and Dr Ajay are medical doctors.