He is a doctor. But not an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) specialist. He rather switched to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 2011. Yet, he has given 72 children with hearing impairment the power to hear again. Not only that, but in his earlier stints in Darbhanga and Nalanda, his work has been hailed widely. He was honoured with the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Administration for ensuring electrification of over 7 lakh houses during his stint in Nalanda and energising 100 per cent of households in the district in record time in 2017. In Darbhanga, he again created a record by administering 1.1 lakh doses of vaccines in a single day. We spoke to him about all these issues.
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It is interesting to know how he figures out the problem and promptly goes for the solution, that too in backward and aspirational districts like Gaya where medical services were rather poor. He not only jacked them up but also enlisted the support of a private hospital in Kanpur (UP) to achieve his goals. He tapped into various government schemes to fund the expensive treatment of these children – to the tune of Rs six lakh per child.
Being a trained doctor himself, Dr Thiyagarajan was aware that the hearing impairment of children below five years of age can be cured completely. Hence, he embarked upon a screening drive in the district in 2022. In the next two years, he got almost every child in that age group screened for deafness. In the next six months, he hopes to get rid of the district of hearing disabled children. “There is no better joy than hearing the ecstatic squeaks of children who are able to hear for the first time in their lives,” he says.
He has just put in 13 years of service and has a whole lot of administrative career ahead of him. We can only hope that he continues the good job and benefits the Bihar state and the nation too.
