District Collector Seeram Sambasiva Rao’s official Facebook page on Thursday saw many emotionally moving posts subsequent to the State government’s order to transfer him as the new Director of Survey and Land Records Department. It was mostly the youth and frontline health workers who virtually stepped in to acknowledge his leadership role as the Collector which helped the district stage a good fight during the most critical time.
Many of them pointed out that it was Mr. Rao’s technical skills and vision that led to the perfect launch of the COVID-19 Jagratha portal. Though it was firstly designed with a mission to streamline various COVID-19 related services in Kozhikode district, the State government accepted it as the best tool for the whole State.
T.K. Biju, one of the Facebook page followers, described him as “a silent warrior” who never tried to hog the limelight. There were many others who endorsed the feeling that Mr. Rao was “unassuming” in his role as Collector and approachable for all to express their grievances. Even during the pandemic time, many key developmental projects faced no roadblock, they observed.
Some of the Health Department officials described him as a “workaholic official” who found his happiness in executing each task perfectly with focus on e-governance. Only those who cold-shouldered the assigned duties had to face his criticism.
His academic background as an IITian apart from his association with the Kerala State IT Mission had really helped the whole State set a perfect IT protocol for COVID-19 management, they noted.
Nammude Kozhikode, the district administration’s mobile application designed under him for facilitating digital governance, had even bagged the national-level golden award instituted by the National Informatics Centre. The mobile application had come to the support of thousands of citizens to overcome lockdown-related challenges.
Some of the farewell messages also lauded him as a diplomatic officer who never tried to create enemies or engage in controversies.
A Revenue Department officer said his passion for addressing developmental issues of the poor and marginalised segments had won him many fans in the rural areas of Kozhikode district.
Mr. Rao, who will also hold the additional charge of Managing Director with the Kerala State IT Mission, will be succeeded by Pathanamthitta Collector Dr. Narasimhugari T.L. Reddy. The new Collector, a 2013-batch IAS officer, is expected to take charge in a week, officials said.
