Coronavirus Lockdown: Mysuru-born woman IAS officer plays perfect caregiver 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 only added to her woes as 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.

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 tribal-dominated Jharkhand.

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

She then rushed to Dumka Medical College and Hospital to check the status of the establishment of the Virology Laboratory. “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 said.

Asking everyone to maintain social distance as this was the only weapon to fight Covid-19, she rushes to Gandhi Maidan, where haat (vegetable market) is regularly organised. She asks her officials to keep tabs 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.

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

Earlier, she earned plaudits from the Union Government for making Ramgarh, where she previously served as Deputy Commissioner, the first open defecation free district in Jharkhand.