Governor going all out to leave her mark in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan seems determined to prove that being a Governor does not mean one has to remain confined to ceremonial duties. Unlike her predecessors, Tamilisai has been actively commenting on the State’s affairs in various matters, interacting directly with citizens through Twitter and making suggestions to the State government on various issues, including the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic as she had earlier served as a medical doctor. On Friday, the Governor released a coffee-table book, which runs into hundreds of pages, on the various initiatives taken up by her and the activities she participated in, during the first year of her tenure.

From criticising the Telangana government for its low testing in the initial phases of the pandemic and summoning the Chief Secretary and Health Secretary for a meeting on the matter, to taking the initiative to find out various issues bogging the State-run universities as their Chancellor, Tamilisai has had her run-ins with the Telangana government.

‘State govt was hesitant to accept my suggestions’

Speaking to reporters on Friday, she confessed that the Telangana government, during the initial phase of her tenure, had a “hesitation” in accepting the suggestions made by her.However, Telangana did not witness any ugly spats between the Centre-appointed Governor and the State government, like in Maharashtra or Kerala. She attributed this to her ability as a good communicator, which forced the government to start responding positively to her recommendations. She also said that she is doing her best to act as a bridge between the Central and State governments and between the people and the Telangana government.

She further said that her relationship with the Chief Minister is issue-based. She gave various examples of her initiatives, including writing a letter to the State government with 15 points to contain the pandemic, asking it to utilise her medical experience in controlling the virus, suggesting the CM to start pay-and-use wards in government hospitals and writing to the government on the immediate need for hiring vice-chancellors for State varsities.

Programme for improving tribals’ nutrition levels

Meanwhile, Tamilisai announced that she will soon visit some remote tribal areas to interact with the populace and understand their problems. She pointed out the issues of poor nutrition status and lack of healthcare awareness among the tribals. The Governor further said that she would start a nutrition programme in one of the tribal areas, which will be on the lines with the ‘Annam canteen’ she started to provide breakfast to students of the Government High School near Raj Bhavan. She also said that for distribution of commodities in the remote areas, she will buy electric scooters from her discretionary fund.