‘Best Performing Collector’ award for Thoothukudi Collector

District Collector K. Senthil Raj received the ‘Best Performing Collector’ award from Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in Chennai on Saturday during the silver jubilee celebrations of the State Human Rights Commission.

After evaluating the performances of the District Collectors, Dr. Senthil Raj has been selected for this award.

Mr. Senthil Raj had visited the Government Higher Secondary School at Pasuvanthanai and the Panchayat Union Primary School at Mela Authoor in April last, he interacted with the students to understand their problems, if any, and enjoyed the nutritious meal served to the children while sitting under the shade of the trees on the school premises.

As he could understand the genuine needs of the Pasuvanthanai school during the interaction, Mr. Senthil Raj released ₹2 lakh from the Collector’s discretionary fund to execute the works through the Public Works Department under his supervision. The height of the walls around the urinals was raised and the damaged floors of classrooms and the verandah were re-laid. The dull black boards were given a fresh coat of paint. The buildings looked new with the latest round of painting.

His visit to the Panchayat Union Primary School at Mela Authoor gave new lease of life to the school, functioning in an age-old building with tiled roof. The entire damaged tiled roof was replaced with new tiles besides carrying out repair in the building, all at a cost of ₹ 2.10 lakh released from the Collector’s discretionary funds.

When he noticed the floor of the verandah that was damaged being used by the children to have their mid-day meal, new tiles were laid.

When a Dalit saltpan worker was murdered at Thalaivanvadali near Authoor in May last in retaliation to the murder of a college student belonging to an intermediate caste, tension gripped Authoor area for several days. Inspector General of Police, South Zone, Asra Garg had to camp at Authoor to bring the situation under control.

However, the sustained efforts taken by the police and the district administration restored peace in the village. The intermediate caste members even agreed to remove the pole standing tall in the hamlet with their ‘caste flag’, which is used in the southern districts by different caste members to exhibit their ‘might’.

Since Mr. Senthil Raj and Superintendent of Police L Balaji Saravanan played a vital role in restoring normalcy without using force in the trouble-prone Thalaivanvadali, the Collector has been selected for the coveted award.