A multifaceted personality, Ranjan Kumar Das, District Magistrate & Collector, Jajpur, has hundreds irons in the fire to his credit and all of them are hot indeed! A versatile writer, a zestful chronicler of life through his travelogues, he goes on unceasingly releasing his creations to the admiration of his readers. Workaholic by temperament, he rises in the wee hour of day and works till it is dark for the toiling people of the district by visiting them even at their doorsteps as and when needed. He tries to check the Covid-19 pandemic with surveillance round the clock. After completing his postgraduation in Political Science, he joined the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) in 1984 and was elevated to the IAS in 2017. After his joining as the Jajpur Collector, he has undertaken a series of developmental activities by bringing catalytic changes in the district. The Nagada situation has improved unexpectedly owing to his untiring efforts, for which appreciations come from all quarters. His Odia books have been translated into Hindi and Bengali and received wide acclaim. He has mastered the Russian language and rendered a Russian poetry collection into Odia. The seemingly unending awards and accolades come cascading down upon him as a writer. He writes columns for major local newspapers. He is also a founder-member of Sanibar Srujan Sandhya, Vani Vihar and advisor to odisha authors.com. His lovely lyrics have been made into blockbuster albums echoing with lilting music. Some of his writings have become so popular that they have been made into Odia films like ‘Rakhi Deigala Akhire Luha’, ‘Saheed Raghu Sardar’ ‘Tu Mu Laila’, etc. In an interview to The Pioneer, Das spoke to Sugyan Choudhury on the problems due to the pandemic in the thickly-populated district of Jajpur.
Why Jajpur district has proved a hotspot for Covid-19? What were the factors responsible for it?
Jajpur had registered around one lakh migrants stranded in different States like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Delhi and a few other States which were hotspots. So far, around 23,000 people have returned. Some of them entered into the district surreptitiously bypassing the border checkpoints and later on became spreaders of the virus before they could be detected and brought to TMCs.
How far has the district administration been successful in isolating the Nizamuddin-linked people?
Nizamuddin-linked people were the first lot to enter the district and were few in number. We could identify their habitations and contacts through active surveillance and line listing and did containment as well as enforcement effectively to isolate them.
In most of the blocks of the district, Covid test has not yet been conducted. It is apprehended that their numbers may rise phenomenally after tests. What steps are taken to solve the problem?
Jajpur is one of the districts which have done extensive testing. Even our position is higher than the State and national averages. Whereas testing per lakh population is 673 in the country and 675 in the State, our testing per lakh population is 822.
It is reported that inmates of quarantine centres are allowed to go scot free after a brief halt of five days to seven days despite the specific targeted period. These people, also again being victims of Covid-19, are spreading the disease. What’s your response?
No. Inmates in rural areas are being made to undergo 14 days of compulsory institutional quarantining, after which they become eligible to get an incentive of Rs 2,000 per person. We are following all Government instructions issued in this regard strictly.
How far is the public distribution system maintained during the pandemic? Some beneficiaries have raised allegations that their quotas have been cut short by their dealers. What are the packages for the needy people during this period as allotted by both the State and the Central Governments?
The public distribution system (PDS) in our district is running efficaciously. PDS dealers and Civil Supplies officials were told from the beginning to be empathetic towards the people. Still, in a few cases where the dealers played mischief, strong action was taken against them which acted as a deterrent for others. So far, regular entitlement of rice/ wheat @ Rs 1 per kg has been supplied to all card holders under the National Food Security Act and the State Food Security Scheme up to June. Besides, under PMGKY, rice @ 5 kg per person and dal @ 1 kg per household have been distributed to the card holders free of cost for three months up to June. Distribution is going on for the month of July.
What are the plans on your agenda for accelerating the drive against the pandemic?
We undertook lots of awareness and enforcement activities in last few months to keep our people free from viral contamination. Our officers and PRIs are doing excellent work for regulating social distancing and ensuring use of masks, etc. We are putting in our best day in and day out to ensure that there is no further spread and death due to Covid-19.
Your video in acting against the pandemic and creating awareness in the society has gone viral. Could you please share your delightful experience in this regard with us?
I have long years of exposure to the creative world. During initial days of Covid-19 when awareness spreading was the need of the hour, it struck me one day to try something unique to spread awareness. I along with some of my colleagues did a video documentary to teach people about the “do’s & don’ts” during those days. It was a pleasant experience being on the video film to make an appeal to people. The experiment was also appreciated by people at large.
