`When the going gets tough,’ so goes the old saying, `the tough get going’. IAS officer of Bihar Pratyaya Amrit is a proof of this age-old dictum. Put on the front of the battle-line in the state Government’s fight against Covid 19, Mr Amrit needs no introduction. He was the only IAS officer in India that Government of India picked in 2011 in the individual category, for the Prime Minister’s Excellence Award in Public Administration.
The facilitation certificate for Mr Amrit reads “Bridging the gap: For turning around a dying Bihar State Bridge Construction Corporation into a profit-making unit.”
Top-Notch Performer
This is just one of the several feathers in this distinguished bureaucrat’s cap, who is known primarily for his strings of performances and proven ability to “turn around’’ a dire situation. In fact, a large credit is given to him for enabling Nitish Kumar to beat anti-incumbency in the last State Election. And how? Well in 2014, Pratyaya was made the Chairman & Managing Director of Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited in June 2014. Soon, in what is now seen as a near impossible task which took most naysayers by surprise, he completed rural electrification of 39,073 revenue villages in Bihar.
This was not all. Enthused by Mr Amrit’s superlative performance, the Chief Minister promoted him to the rank of Bihar’s Principal Secretary of Energy Department in February 2016. In 2018, the state of Bihar achieved 100 percent electrification, the credit for which goes to one man: Pratyaya Amrit.
Playing the Best Card Against Coronavirus
Two months ago, as the Covid 19 situation worsened in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar swiftly removed the state Health Secretary Uday Singh Kumawat from the post, replacing him with Pratyaya Amrit. The move reflected two things: the worsening of Covid 19 situation in Bihar, and the state Government’s resolve to play its best card to contain the virus’ onslaught.
In appointing Mr Amrit as the Health Secretary, the Bihar Government probably took leaf from the successful Kasarogod model of Covid 19 containment in Kerala. This happened when the Kerala Government, instead of relying on young and energetic civil servants to fight the fast emerging Corona hotbed in Kasaragod, appointed its senior-most, and vastly experienced Alkesh Sharma for the firefighting job. At the time of his posting at Kasaragod, Mr Sharma was working as the managing director of Kochi Metro!
A Team Man
A steady operator, Mr Amrit’s forte consists in building a team while proceeding with a project, any project for that matter. Those looking for flashy results may not be too impressed by him, but even they concede that when it comes to achieving solid results, Mr Amrit cannot be beaten easily. So the obvious question arises: How is Bihar Government fighting Covid 19?
An oblique and a part answer- mainly because the overall Covid 19 situation in India is still going through unpredictable turns- lies in what happened in Bihar last week, on September 20. This was the day on which Bihar became the first state in India to conduct highest number of Covid 19 tests anywhere in India!
The credit for the remarkable feat goes largely to Mr Amrit and his team.
On that crucial day, Bihar Health Department conducted as many 1,76,511 tests for COVID-19. Sharing this information, State Health Minister Mangal Pandey said that a total of 5,70,03,36 COVID-19 tests had been done in Bihar so far, out of which 1,68,542 persons tested positive.
And this is what Mr Amrit told the media : “Bihar’s recovery rate has gone upto 91.63 per cent as on Sunday (September 20) with only 13,234 active COVID-19 patients under treatment and isolation at hospitals and their homes. So far,1,54,443 patients have recovered that is also a record in itself’’. He said that the infection rate had also dropped significantly in the state with just 1,555 new positive cases tested in the previous 24-hours.
It is nobody’s case that Bihar has defeated coronavirus, or is on the point of doing so. But by dispatching its most trustworthy warrior on the battle-front, it has tilted the odds in its favour. And when it comes to fighting a mighty enemy like Covid19, steps like these often go a long way in affecting the outcome of the battle.
