Dreaming of becoming a doctor, and then making a spectacular transition from India’s first professional nurse to an IAS officer- this is how Annies Kanmani Joy’s life has unfolded so far.
Her eventful journey continues. From battling the devastating landslides to containing the spread of the novel coronavirus, Ms. Joy has been working hard to guarantee the safety and security of her people. Her efforts since the beginning have garnered accolades and today, she is handling the COVID-19 situation in her area like a boss!
Accomplishing her dream
Ms. Joy grew up in a small village in Piravom, Kerala. Her family took every step to ensure that she was provided with the best education facilities. She was a bright student who aspired to become a doctor and in order to accomplish her dream, she enrolled for the MBBS exam but unfortunately, did not pass. So she pursued her graduation in nursing and became a nurse.
But her career as a nurse did not give her peace of mind. She wanted to do more. She came across someone who enlightened her about getting into Civil Services and she made up her mind to go for it.
Entrance into Civil Services
After completing her 4-year Graduation in B.Sc and 1-year internship in a medical college, she attended coaching to prepare for Civil Service from Trivandrum and Delhi. She gave the UPSC examination twice, scoring AIR-580, the first time and AIR-65 the second time in 2012. After clearing her examination, she underwent ICAS training in Faridabad, Haryana.
Performing her duties with determination
Today, Ms. Joy proudly holds the position of the Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu District, Karnataka. Prior to being appointed as the DC, she was the Tumakuru Zila Parishad Chief Executing Officer. The Karnataka government had transferred Ms. Joy, last year on February 1st , 2019 to Kodagu to speed up the flood relief work. She worked on the allegations that the rehabilitation work of those affected by the natural calamity had been delayed.
But her work during the peak time of Covid earned her praises from citizens. According to reports, under her care Kodagu is one of the few districts of the country where no new COVID- 19 cases were spotted for 28 consecutive days, even as cases were soaring high in the entire nation, including parts of Karnataka. The first case in Kodagu came out in Coorg, which is a well-known tourist hill station, on 19th March 2020. But after this, there were no new cases for consecutively five weeks, and according to the residents, it was possible only because of the alertness of Ms. Joy which enabled the district to maintain a low number of cases.
A true COVID warrior
The Deputy Commissioner of Kodagu, Ms. Joy, took charge of the situation as the virus hit the nation and made its way into her district. She implemented effective steps to curb the spread of coronavirus and make the Kodagu district of Karnataka free of the COVID-19 epidemic. Her skills as a nurse came in handy while she was chalking out ways and means to combat the deadly virus. “Kodagu was the third district in Karnataka to report a covid case in March,” she told Indian Masterminds
As soon as the first case was reported in Coorg, there was no time lost in tracking the location of the patient and the people who had come in contact with him the past few days. Each and everyone was put into quarantine.
“After the first case was reported, we put the district in a strict lockdown which resulted in 0 cases in the next two months. Those two months were a cushiony period, which helped us in preparing for the coming days. Now, anybody who would go to a government hospital will receive the best medical facilities as a private hospital provides.”
With the commencement of unlock 1.0 in the country, the cases in the district also began to rise. “As of today, 4900 Covid cases were registered and out of them, there are 120 active cases, but thankfully, everything is under control,” says Ms. Joy.
A team effort
Ms. Joy feels that nothing would have been possible without the teamwork of the authority and the public. “There are a lot of people who have worked day and night for it. The public was equally supportive. They are quite educated and well aware of the situation so they always supported the decisions taken by the District Administration. The credit goes to the entire team!”
She also praises the team effort provided during the major landslides that have been happening in Kodagu since the past 3 years.
“The first time it happened, everybody was shocked and unprepared. But we have the best rescue teams who provided immediate relief to the victims. It is a small district but the systems are in place,” she told Indian Masterminds.
Challenges faced
While going about battling Covid, the major challenge that they had to face was of the infrastructure of the place. Kodagu is a hilly region so she had to face issues with infrastructure and communication. Not only that, the lack of medical personnel and big nursing homes also caused a hindrance.
“There were a lot of vacancies in the health staff department but the already prevailing ones worked hard, all day and night, and provided us with great help!”
But now, with the help of government funding, the district has one of the best health infrastructure for managing Covid. And they have also received a surge in Human Resources by getting a number of new doctors in the district.
Praised for her work
Today, residents from the entire district sing praises for Ms. Joy. She is highly appreciated for the work that she has done by safeguarding the people of her district. Not just that, she is being applauded by the entire nation. Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry, Mr. Lav Agarwal, has complemented the efforts of the Kodagu District Administration in arresting the spread of the novel Corona Virus.
