Colleagues honour former Collector

VELLORE: Senior officials, social activists, and retired government employees on Monday paid homage to the former District Collector, Malathi of the erstwhile North Arcot District, who passed away on Sunday. She was the first woman Collector of the combined Vellore-Tiruvannamalai district during the 1987-89 period.District president of the Retired government employees Association, D Krishnamoorthy, who was the secretary of the Revenue Employees Association then, described Malathi as an able administrator and a down-to-earth person. He said that during a 10-day strike called by the government employees during 1988, she managed the entire office work all by herself. She was a strict officer with a humane approach, he added.D Siluppan, district president of the Vellore unit of the Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association which organised a condolence meet on Monday, recalled that she had managed one of the biggest districts in the State with elan. She was the first person to introduce the concept of top officials going to each and every village to understand the ground realities there. She also modelled the public grievance redressal system and was the first to help with the networking of various line departments for better administration. During that period Vellore rose in industrial development as she resolved many issues confronting the establishment of BHEL and the first ever SIPCOT in Ranipet.Social activist R Chandrasekaran recalled that during her period, NGOs were given due recognition. “For the first time, I saw a woman Collector so bold, accessible and responding to issues faced by common people,” he said. She also paved the way for social groups to take up many programmes such as blood donation camps and rehabilitation of the differently-abled persons. He recalled an incident when a visually impaired person had come to donate blood but could not get a doctor’s certificate to avail rail ticket concession. She then directed the doctor concerned to act or face action. Later when she assumed higher posts, she would respond to the pleas of the people, thereby setting herself as a model for others to emulate, he added.