Deferred Live from Life - Field Recap

Prologue

We are back to Lucknow, the state capital, after more than 4 years of field work. I fully intend to utilize my joining time, and that gives me the time to unpack in our relatively modest dwelling (after living in the colonial era Magistrate Residence, every dwelling appears modest!), and to pen down the first article of this calendar year.

A Brief History of Time - 2019 - 2023

The field tenure in itself was quite challenging, and gave us an experience of a lifetime. We joined Sant Kabir Nagar on 18th February 2019, just before the announcement of the Lok Sabha General Elections. Coincidentally, I had never handled an ECI election as a Returning Officer. The 2014 LSE had happened while we were in training, and the 2017 VSE happened when we had been promoted to CDO, while the RO work was earmarked for SDM level. The inexperience, combined with the inertia from being away from the field, made this task a real challenge. The ECI brooks no nonsense. Within a period of a week, one was expected to master the whole field of Election Rules and the electoral scenario and preparedness situation of the District. Being wanting in either earned one at least a public humiliation in a meeting of all the Divisional and District Level Election and Police officers, and it could proceed to the level of removal from the District! So one pored over the RO Handbook and Election Manuals like the textbooks, and the latest circulars like the news magazines we read during the time of preparation. One also toured the field extensively, to bring the field realities closer to the impossible standards set by the Commission. In the midst of this, hardly a couple of days before the announcement of the elections, we had a major crisis, when, in the middle of an official meeting, there happened a fisticuff between two legislators. The thing brought an ignominious spotlight on our rather diminutive District. However, it also showed some fine policing initiative by our young SOG incharge, which averted a guaranteed lynching in the official premises! The Election itself proceeded swimmingly well. I returned the newest MP in literally a textbook manner (I needed to read at every step!), and then we settled down to the mundane task of day to day Magistracy. The next 10 months passed eventlessly, at least from my level. There were problems, but none too big. There were petitioners, but rarely was there any scene created. We had good SPs, good ADMs, a number of CDOs with short tenures. The press was quite cooperative, to the extent they can be. 

Then came March, 2020. We found ourselves, quite suddenly, amidst a global pandemic. Though the first case in the District was found around 15th April, we started experiencing its effects in the last third of March itself. There was the lockdown. Overnight we had to plan the supply chain of all households in the District. Then we had to deal with masses of people returning to their ancestral places, from their locked down workplaces in the metropolises. Once the positive cases themselves started coming, there was the whole system of Covid hospitals as well as hotspot management. Mercifully, the wave was not as fatal as its successor. However, the panic was otherworldly. The day was had found our first case, people were wary of entering the very village. Later, we had to don the PPE suits ourselves, and enter the Hospital wards, to inspire confidence. 

The transfer to my next District happened as the Covid wave was peaking. It was not a sign of worry. In fact the peak happened because the locked down economy was steadily being opened up, as the initial panic gave way to a more pragmatic approach. The transfer orders came over a weekend, and we joined Sultanpur on 13th September, 2020, a Sunday. Immediately, we found out that it was a very different scenario. The press was quite hostile. The relations between the political and permanent executive were quite frayed. The supervisory authorities were quite aggressive. Even the festive traditions were quite different from the rest of the state. It was again a huge learning curve we confronted. The epidemic ebbed out by October. We had the traditional Durga Pooja. That was followed by the preparation for the Panchayat Elections. Each step was fraught with pitfalls. The delimitation of constituencies was a very subjective task. The determination of reservation was a totally objective exercise. Both generated unwanted attention of people. Mercifully we had a good team for both. 

Just before the actual poll, the family suffered a great bereavement, as my paternal grandmother departed from an illness. Almost simultaneously, the second wave of Covid, the infamous Delta version, started peaking quite suddenly. The election process had proceeded too far to stop it now, and their conduction did not help with the pandemic. Suddenly, Panchayat Election, usually one of biggest headaches of any Magistracy, was relegated to the background in the list of worries. This wave was lethal. Everyone was losing family, friends and colleagues. Worse, the breathlessness due to 'vitreous' formations in the lungs was quite palpable, and the demand for medical oxygen outstripped the supply for a while. It was a 24 hr struggle to maintain the chain. While the first Covid was mainly a crisis of managing our own response to a novel epidemic, the second Covid was purely a medical disaster. Our team lost some able officers; quite a few from our family came too close to that.

When this crisis abated a bit by July, the normal life returned. Here, the normal was not like the previous Districts. The problem of petty fights escalating into fatal encounters was quite big here. Holidays and nights were the best time for the aggressors to encroach on someone's property, as the State Machinery would take time, and, by human nature, hold a higher threshold level for response, on those occasions. Hence, violent aggression, and violent response, were more frequent in the times of continuous holidays. We did have to create a policy of aggressive identification and strict Chapter VIII proceedings before every major festival!

One high point of this tenure was the Prime Ministerial visit for the inauguration of Poorvanchal Expressway. It is a 6 lane expressway, the longest in the state. The maximum length (about a third of it) falls in the District Sultanpur. In addition to that, the runway Incorporated in the length of the expressway lies in the District. In addition to the all important PM Visit, the function also had a whole air show by the IAF. That entailed coordination with the Airforce in a multi level way. The function saw a crowd of around 3 lakh visitors, and it was a resounding success. 

The visit, as well as a few more high level programs, were the run up to the State Assembly Elections. By the turn of the new year, we were again in the process of electoral work. I was not a Returning Officer this time, but my SDMs did gain from my experience of 2019, and all kept a very short ballot paper! (Hint - Resurgence India) It was a well contested election, that turned politically ugly by the end, near counting. Still, the general trust in our team was good, and we avoided any major controversy, and returned the five new legislators.

Post elections, the works were mainly focussed on higher goals - better civic sense and public order, control of anti social elements on one end, and easing business and living, and attracting investment on the other. Our third Durga Pooja saw a communal breakout in a far-flung area of the District. Prompt, and strict response ensured that the incident was contained and the grievance did not linger on. On the business front, the District was able to garner three times the target set for Investment. The process for grounding the same is already initiated through a high level interdepartmental facilitation cell. 

A Very Touching Farewell - the Spark for this article

Undergoing transfers is a part of a career in Civil Service. However, the response of all the stakeholders in the District overwhelmed the hard-core boarding school boarder in me! The orders were received on Monday evening, and by Tuesday evening we were all packed and ready. We were to move out on Wednesday morning. However, few friendly members of the Bar prevailed upon me to attend a farewell to be organized by them. It was hard to say no to these extremely erudite gentlemen with whom I had held Court for so long. In fact, holding court was the most favourite part of my time. I had learned a lot from the rulings they had brought forth. I could not refuse. Once the Bar was accepted, the Collectorate also sought some time. Later even the Vikas Bhawan officers decided to hold a separate farewell function. 

Wednesday was really special for me. I knew I had earned the respect of our learned advocates through my Court work, but the sheer torrent of the affection shown was overwhelming. I was given a letter of appreciation by the Bar of Sultanpur, for the volume of disposal done on merit. Of all the encomiums received, I rate it the best. I consider myself an unenrolled scholar of law, and I like to put my best effort in my Court work. The very honour of farewell by the Bar is a rare moment, as it was made known. The staff and officers of the Collectorate have had a special bond with me. We have arrived hard to keep our neck above the water in a very highly litigated workspace, and I have tried to push the diffident staff to take ownership of tasks. The same was reflected in a program well attended by persons who were not State employees - journalists, civil society, merchant guilds. I must say, half jokingly, had this affection been made known to me in-tenure, I would have strived even harder for it! Our officers and associations at Vikas Bhawan were recipients of a final impromptu training session by me. The tide of affection shown was even stronger. Finally, as I reached the Camp for the final pack up, I met the Durga Pooja society, and a friend, philosopher and guide. We were escorted right to the expressway, with visible tears on both sides. It was a touching end to a long stay in field.

Epilogue

I finish this article as my unpacking is almost done, and I prepare to join the Stamps and Registration Headquarters the next day. The topic of Stamp and valuation has always been very tricky for me. Hopefully this tenure at the heart of the beast shall equip me better for the future. I seek the blessings of Almighty and all as I tread this new path.