SANDIP KUMAR IAS DATE : 15/09/2021

ASSISTANT COLLECTOR (UNDER TRAINING) PATHANAMTHITTA

D.O Letter No. 03/ACUT/PTA/DO/2021

Dear Sir,

Hope you are doing good. It is a pleasure for me to write to you again. They say time flies
when you are having fun; I have realised that it also happens when you are busy. As the district
training has entered fifth month, I have experienced many new things in the last few months. First
of all, my district got a new collector: Dr. Divya S Nair. This change was significant because it also
impacted the way my training was proceeding. I had the opportunity to observe the transition and
understand the impact of individual officers on the Collector’s office. Moreover, I felt like a new
phase in my district training has arrived.
Earlier, I was mostly assigned with Covid related duties. I handled Oxygen war room and
acted as nodal office for the sector magistrate. But now, I have been assigned duties in the various
fields. I started attending public hearing session with the collector; and some times she referred the
matter to me for resolution. I got opportunity to understand plethora of problems that common
people goes through in my district. From land disputes to scholarship issues for poor girls, I got
acquainted with many departments by going through these problems. Also, I realised the
tremendous scope of crowdfunding to support the needy in the district.
I also took up tribal internet connectivity project in the district. More than 20 tribal hamlets
in the district did not have internet connectivity. Students in these hamlets were the real sufferers as
classes has moved online due to the pandemic and they were unable to attend it. I started working
with network service providers and District e-Governance Society (DeGS). Through optical fibre
connection and antenna reorientation, I was able to provide internet to the 11 hamlets. For rest of

 the hamlets, I am working with multiple technical partners and departments. I am hopeful that soon
I will be able to come up with solutions for the most of the places.
Along with internet connectivity, I also started working on collecting digital devices from
public donations. A campaign ‘Aksharpatham’ was launched in the district. Along with NIC, we
also developed a mobile app ‘Nammude Pathanamthitta’, which allows people to register
themselves and donate digital devices to beneficiaries. Details of this project is available on our
district website: https://pathanamthitta.nic.in/aksharapathram/ . Schools and Panchayats ran
simultaneous campaigns for collection of digital devices. Many Parent Teacher Associations(PTA)
came up and donated mobile phones to the needy.
As India is celebrating 75th year since independence, under ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsava’,
Pathanamthitta District has been allotted Blood Donation Campaign. Under my supervision, District
TB Officer along with various departments are successfully running the campaign in the district.
Many blood donation camps have been organised at the various places. Various types of
competitions have been organised in the schools and colleges to spread awareness about the blood
donation.
Meanwhile, I got opportunity to engage with Block Development Office, Panchayat Office
and Municipality office. I understood their functioning and the role that are playing in running
government at the grassroots level. Kerala has got very strong LSGs and many government schemes
and projects are being directly implemented by them. I also understood the MGNREGA functioning
at the block and panchayat level. I understood the detailed process of planning and its
implementation at the panchayat level.
Additionally, I also got to head the enquiry committee on the functioning of Child Welfare
Committee(CWC) in the district. Through this, I was able to understand functioning of various
bodies related to child and also visited children’s home to understand their concerns. Apart from
these, I headed selection committee for various posts at the district level related to women and child
protection. The experience gained by these were very enriching.
Overall, I am thoroughly enjoying my district training. Every coming day, I am getting
additional responsibilities, and it allows me to fully engage in the work that I am doing. With the
impact of Covid tapering down, I hope everyone at the academy must be doing well. I wish during
Bharat Darshan we get to see you and the faculty team again. Thank you.

With Warm Regards,

Assistant Collector (U/T)

 To
ABHIRAM G.SANKAR
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
LBSNAA
MUSSOORIE - 248179