Full circle for Odisha IAS officer | From kidnap in the Cut-Off area to development in Swabhiman Anchal
The Hindu
R. Vineel Krishna’s return to the very place from where he was abducted by armed cadres of CPI (Maoist) on February 16, 2011 finally revealed the transformation which he had hoped to bring about as a young collector of the Maoist-affected Malkangiri district.
A visit to a remote place, an overnight stay and the review of government programmes sounds like a routine affair for any IAS officer. But for R. Vineel Krishna, Special Secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the night stay at the Badapada government facility in Swabhiman Anchal in Odisha’s Malkangiri district last week — his first time after a 12-year gap — was something emotive, yet meaningful.
Mr. Krishna’s return to the very place from where he was abducted by armed cadres of CPI (Maoist) on February 16, 2011 finally revealed the transformation which he had hoped to bring about as a young collector of the Maoist-affected Malkangiri district.
The 2005-batch IAS officer, who was part of a high-level official delegation comprising Development Commissioner Anu Garg and 5T Secretary V. K. Pandian, was served food by young members of self-help groups inside Swabhiman Anchal, once a bastion of left-wing extremists (LWEs).
The people of Swabhiman Anchal, who were earlier perceived as sympathisers of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), seemed to interact with the senior officers without any fear, as they aired their grievances and gave suggestions for further improvement in the region.
“Swabhiman Anchal should be a model of how transformation can be brought in,” said Mr. Krishna.
Back in February 2011, his abduction had set the stage for a nine day-long negotiation between the Odisha government and left-wing extremist-backed interlocutors, bringing the entire administration to its knees. The whole country watched the developments, given that a kidnapping of an IAS officer by CPI (Maoist) cadres was previously unheard of.
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