Welfare of marginalised, fighting drug menace priority for new collector
An avid reader and an advocate of the welfare of marginalised communities, she speaks to TNIE about her duties and responsibilities.
What are the primary issues you will be looking into?
The focus will be on state government's priority projects like the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project, Malinya Muktham Nava Keralam district survey, pattayam distributions, and also central government priority projects, besides supporting the projects of the corporation and LSGs.
Continuing with the existing projects, for example Operation Breakthrough, will also be a focus area this month. I will need two to three months to study the district in detail.
There must have been previous administrators who tried to solve certain issues, which did not happen due to other complications. When I was the district collector of Palakkad, I started 20-25 new projects after studying the needs of that specific district. We have some ideas, but what I did in the previous district won't even be a requirement here. It is a different landscape, population, and demography.
As Palakkad collector, you were keen on looking into issues of marginalised communities. How do you view the same in Ernakulam?
I used to look into issues at Attappadi and the problems the tribal population faced there. But here, the tribal population is smaller. I will definitely be visiting them soon. We also have the issues of the coastal population and of a considerable number of migrant workers.
One of the last initiatives of the previous collector was taking steps to curb drug abuse. Any update on the project that was supposed to pick up pace in August?
That is one of the serious problems we face here. I have already started taking updates on it. I would like to do something really significant in that regard. We'll go forth with it immediately once I get a hang of the current stats.
Your thoughts on being close to books...
I love to read books and like to put it on my social media. Usually, I give only a bit of personal updates on social media, but I like to post book reviews and recommendations there.
I personally believe we are too much into screen time these days. There is this phenomenon called brain rot that is increasing among people, young and old alike. One thing I would like to tell the public is to get back to books.
Currently, I'm reading the last story of Heart Lamp (2024 International Booker Prize winner by Banu Mushtaq, a Kannada writer). It is a very interesting book (collection of short stories). Kerala has a good culture of vayanasalas (libraries) and of reading newspapers and books.
There needs to be a movement to bring that back as we are rapidly falling for the digital culture. Technology enables you, but there's always a flipside to it. Too much of it will obstruct the personal growth of people and increase psychological issues. It is high time people got back to books or any other indoor or outdoor activity.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
3 minutes ago
- India Today
Ex-minister Bacchu Kadu sentenced to 3 months in jail for asaulting officer
Seven years after he assaulted a public servant, former Maharashtra MLA Bachchu Kadu was on Tuesday convicted and sentenced to three months' imprisonment by a court here, noting that being a legislator "didn't give him a license" to Sessions Judge Satyanarayan Navander imposed a Rs 10,000 penalty on Kadu. His sentencing has been suspended till he files an appeal in a higher court, and he was granted Kadu had not hit the complainant IAS officer and merely made a gesture with an iPad, the court noted that a threatening gesture was enough to create an apprehension of imminent use of criminal force. The court also observed that officers involved in policy-making and planning should have protection so that they can work fearlessly and court convicted Kadu under sections 353 (assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant to deter them from performing their duty) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, while absolving him of the intentional insult charge."No doubt, there can be grievances about governance or management of a particular department or even regarding conducting the examinations during the recruitment processes of the government. But that does not mean that any representative of the people would go to such an officer and attack him violently, intimidating the officer and disrupting his business," the court the accused might genuinely have wanted to address a grievance, his approach was "inherently improper", the court said, stressing that noble purpose notwithstanding, a public servant cannot be threatened with harm to life or reputation."Merely because the accused was a sitting MLA, he didn't have a licence to deter a public servant by criminally intimidating him or by assaulting him in his office," the judge incident occurred on September 26, 2018, when Kadu, the founder of Prahar Janshakti Party, visited the office of IAS officer Pradeep P, the then Director of the Information & Technology Department in Mumbai, to discuss mega recruitment by the Maharashtra IT prosecution alleged that the discussion escalated into a heated argument, during which Kadu became picked up an iPad from the officer's table and made a gesture to hit him, the prosecution said.A case was registered based on a complaint lodged by the IAS officer a day after the incident, which stated he was in court rejected the defence's argument that since no actual physical force was applied, the offence was not judge stated that the threatening gesture itself was enough to create an apprehension of imminent use of criminal court stated that section 353 of the IPC aims to ensure that public officials carry out their responsibilities, without fear of intimidation or violence, to uphold the rule of law and maintain public order."The officers who are in policy making and planning should have protection so that they can work fearlessly and effectively,' the court judge said Kadu could have explored legal ways to address the grievances."He was a sitting MLA. Many avenues were open for him. He could have addressed his complaint even directly through the Chief Minister,' the court judgement highlighted that Kadu, instead of choosing the "appropriate and legitimate way", went to the office of the informant and assaulted him in "unsuited fashion", which maligned the image not only of the officer, but of the government.- Ends IN THIS STORY#Maharashtra
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Ex-minister Bacchu Kadu sentenced to 3 months in jail for asaulting IAS officer
A special court on Tuesday sentenced former state minister Bacchu Kadu to three months' imprisonment in a case over assaulting an IAS officer at the state secretariat in 2019. The former MLA had lifted the officer's iPad and gestured to hit him, which the court said was not a casual act but one that conveyed the intention to cause harm. The court said that merely because he was a sitting MLA at that time, he did not have the licence to deter a public servant by criminally intimidating him. Kadu was found guilty under sections 353 (use of criminal force to deter public servant), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 504 (intentional insult) of the Indian Penal Code. The court also granted him bail and suspended his sentence to allow Kadu to file an appeal. 'In the case at hand, the accused, during the heated arguments, lifted the iPad and gestured to hit the informant (the officer). It was a threatening gesture made with an intention to create an apprehension of imminent use of criminal force. Therefore, this action on the part of the accused was an assault on the informant. The violent and voluntary act as such cannot be named differently,' special judge Satyanarayan Navander, designated for the trial of criminal cases involving MPS and MLAs, said. The case was filed at Marine Drive police station, alleging that on September 29, 2019, Kadu, along with others, barged into the office of IAS officer Pradeep P, who was then working as Information Technology director for the Maharashtra government. Kadu demanded that a report be given immediately regarding the issues that occurred during exams held by IT the department, police said. While the officer said he had called for a report, Kadu and his supporters became aggressive, abused the officer and picked up his iPad, threatening to hit him with it. Before leaving they threatened the officer that their demands for the report should be met in two days. The video of the incident was posted on social media by one of the supporters, the police had said. Kadu had argued that he had gone to the officer with a genuine cause as at that time due to irregularities in the Maha IT portal, the task of recruitment was affected severely. 'Even if that is accepted, the approach of the accused was inherently improper. However noble the intention, one cannot address a public servant in such a manner or threaten him with harm to life or reputation,' the court said, adding that there are legal channels available to raise grievances and Kadu could have directly addressed the Chief Minister too. 'The object of punishment as such is not only to give understanding to the accused but also to the prospective wrong doers that the office of administrative officers should be respected and legal ways be chosen for addressing the grievances,' the court said. During the trial, the officer was examined as the first witness who deposed about the incident. Other witnesses included another IAS officer present in the office along with other staffers. Kadu's lawyer had said that there are no eyewitnesses, nor any CCTV footage. He also denied use of any criminal force or abusive language. He had also claimed that the witnesses had not given an approximate time of the attack. 'Given that the incident occurred suddenly, it is unreasonable to expect witnesses to note the precise time. A difference of a few minutes is inconsequential where the rest of the testimony is consistent and satisfactory,' the court said. The video recording of the incident, the court, said was not proven. Kadu, a leader of the Prahar Janshakti Party, was in 2023, convicted by a Nashik court to one year jail term in a 2017 case for allegedly abusing and attempting to hit the then Nashik Municipal Commissioner, Abhishek Krishna. The appeal is pending before the Bombay High Court. In 2024, Kadu was acquitted in a case of assault of a clerk at Mantralaya in 2011.
United News of India
5 hours ago
- United News of India
Priyanka condemns killing of journalists in Gaza, accuses Israeli state of genocide
New Delhi, Aug 12 (UNI) Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today strongly condemned what she descibed as the "cold-blooded murder" of five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, calling it "another heinous crime committed on Palestinian soil." In a post on X, Priyanka said, "The cold blooded murder of five Al Jazeera journalists is yet another heinous crime committed on Palestinian soil". While praising the slain reporters for their "immeasurable courage" and commitment to truth, the wayanad MP said, 'The immeasurable courage of those who dare to stand for the truth will never be broken by the violence and hatred of the Israeli state". "In a world where much of the media is enslaved to power and commerce, these brave souls reminded us of what true journalism is," she said, adding, 'May they rest in peace.' The Congress leader further went on to accuse the Israeli state of committing "genocide", alleging that over 60,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including 18,430 children. "The Israeli state is committing genocide. It has murdered over 60,000 people, 18,430 of whom were children," she said. She also claimed that hundreds, including many children, have died from starvation, and warned that millions more face similar conditions. "Enabling these crimes by silence and inaction is a crime in itself," she said. She criticised the Indian government's continued silence on the issue, stating, 'It is shameful that the Indian government stands silent as Israel unleashes this devastation on the people of Palestine.' UNI RBE PRS
