Lost Gem of a Person! Resignation of DC Sasikanth Senthil is a Shock to Good Citizens

Lost Gem of a Person! Resignation of DC Sasikanth Senthil is a Shock to Good Citizens

“I have tendered my resignation from the Indian Administrative service today. At this juncture, it is important for me to clarify that this decision is purely a personal one. It is in no way connected to anyone or any event in my current profile as the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district. I must mention that the people and the public representatives of DK district have been extremely kind to me and I owe an apology to them for discontinuing the job vested on me midway”.

“I have taken this decision as I feel that it is unethical for me to continue as a civil servant in the government when the fundamental building blocks of our diverse democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner. I also feel strongly that the coming days will present extremely difficult challenges to the basic fabric of our nation and that I would be better off outside the IAS to continue with my work at making life better for all. It simply cannot be business as usual anymore. I once again express my heartfelt gratitude for all who have worked with me in all capacities and in the process have formed a thread of friendship with me. I wish well for all my fellow staff and their families”- Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada Sasikanth Senthil as stated in his resignation letter

Mangaluru : He Came, He Saw, He conquered the hearts of many Citizens of Mangalureans, during his tenure of nearly two years as Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada. But sadly, due to his personal reasons He tendered his resignation to his IAS career, including the post of DC of DK. For bad and corrupt politicians, officials in govt sectors, and citizens His resignation may come as a good news and relief, but for good and God fearing citizens of DK it is indeed a shocking news that a -Smart, Strict, Educated, Adept,Talented, Dedicated, Committed, Transparent, Knowledgeable, Positive, Proven, more Focused than his predecessors- that Deputy Commissioner of DK, Sasikanth Senthil has resigned from his post.

No doubt that good and concerned citizens of Mangaluru had full hopes in this young and energetic IAS Officer that the City would progress and develop during his tenureship, and that many things would be accomplished under his leadership, some which no other DC would realistically ever be able to deliver- but all their hopes went in vain, due to the unexpected resignation decision taken by our beloved DC Senthil. Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil of Dakshina Kannada, an IAS officer of the 2009 batch, hailing from Tamil Nadu, having previously served as DC of Raichur, and holding a BE degree in electrical and communications. took charge of his office on 19 October 2017, succeeding Dr K G Jagadeesha.

The reason that I have used “Gem of a Person” describing DC Senthil is for certain facts- Have you ever wondered why do we utter the clause “ Gem of a Person” for showering high praise for a person? Why the word gem and what resemblance does it have with a human personality? It is exorbitant and its exclusivity are what referred to a person…. naturally so. When a person says you are a gem, it would mean that you are unique, special, unlike anyone he has met before. Out of a million fishes in the sea, you would stand out. This can be positive or not. You can be unique because you act like the most selfish person on the world, or you can also be the sweetest one-But definitely in the case DC Senthil he is no doubt the sweetest and friendliest person.

The last time that I had close encounters with DC Senthil was on 18 July 2019, when I had joined the members of MCC Civic group when they had an interaction with him on certain important civic issues that have not been rectified in Mangaluru. No doubt at all, that the meeting with DC was one of the effective and worthwhile meetings that the Civic Group had when they had visited Him to submit a memorandum comprising of certain civic issues. And the DC, being the BEST among the all DC’s Mangaluru had seen so far, was very Polite, Humble, Friendly, Cooperative, Jovial, Understanding and Obliging is listening to the grievances of the MCC Civic Group members, and assured them all support from his side, in rectifying the civic issues to the best of His abilities at the earliest.

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During that meeting he had said “I very well know that the Smart City has lots of Civic Issues which are not handled properly and in a systematic way by the concerned authorities of the Smart City Development Project Committee. Sorry to tell you that I was not assigned an Administrator post in that committee, so I can only do what the best I can do to solve certain civic issues. But I am glad to note that You all care for the City’s Civic Issues, to make Mangaluru a Better, Safe and Environmental Friendly City to live. Next time come in large numbers, when I arrange a workshop involving officials from Smart City Development Project Committee, District Administration, and Mangaluru City Corporation, where you can put forth your grievances and civic issues complaints to these officials, so that a proper solution could be chalked out to rectify all those civic issues. You people are doing a good job for the betterment of the City. Keep up the good work, and see you all soon for the Workshop”. Well said by the DC, but with his resignation the unique Workshop that he was anxiously waiting to host will never materialize now.

During the interaction, the DC was friendly, quite knowledgeable in the answers he replied to members queries, a open-minded person and expressed his feelings and thoughts right from his heart, without hiding anything. On that evening of 18 July, I could figure out that he is a person that never hesitates in publicly exposing those people who are not doing justice to their jobs. Having said so, it’s with no doubt that his courageous nature, dedicated and honesty has been appreciated by many citizens and had made him one of the most commendable officers this City had seen. The service done by this young deputy commissioner in two years, will inspire us every single day and help us believe that there is good in the world.

His ideas and efforts have revamped and improved Mangaluru’s image on most of the projects undertaken and supervised by him. No doubt, DC Senthil did his best as much he could, to bring a proper system in the so called Smart City, weed out corruption in administration, undertake development work through proper channels and systematically,- but if we all stand together, it has infinite potential to wipe out all evil- and that’s for sure. A true DC is one who takes the City where it needs to go, not just where it wants to go. DC Senthil was the right choice that citizens of Mangaluru needed at the helm after decades. His qualities and characters had made him a wonderful person-simple, dignified, courteous, friendly and much more.

The job of a deputy commissioner is one that citizens look to for growth, development, strength, leadership and larger-than-life personalities-and for that matter DC Sasikanth Senthil had all all those qualities, plus he was dedicated, strict, knowledgeable, experienced, positive, progressive and proven. As his resignation has made many good citizens of Mangaluru heartbroken, here is what a few had to say- Arjun Mascarenhas stated-“DC was currently the only one whom I had high hopes on for a better Mangaluru. It’s big loss to DK now, especially Mangaluru. He was suppose to bring out a new initiative last week to raise complaints which I strongly believed was a game changer in public grievance redressal system, but unfortunately everything is shattered now” .

Jonas from MCC Civic group said, “Our politicians under any banner do not want people friendly bureaucrats. They only need Chelas and Chamchas who can support their corruption”. Er Rajendra another member of the same group says, “The resignation of DC Senthil speaks about the systematic destruction of the current administrative system. It appears that people with good intentions to bring about improvements in the general standards of public life and also in the system finds it difficult to continue. We can expect the system to deteriorate further as good administrators are leaving the system. We need to have a meeting scheduled with DC and see what can be done”.

On a final note, it seems like Mangaluru does not want to keep good, strict and honest government officials, to govern the City- either they get transferred for doing a honest and corrupt free job or resign after getting fed up with too much of bossism and interference of corrupt and dumb politicians. It’s unfortunate and sad to note that good and concerned citizens of Mangaluru who had full hopes in this young and smart Deputy Commissioner, where the City would have progressed better during his tenureship, are now left with their hopes completely shattered, due to the unexpected decision made by DC. Many things would have been accomplished under Senthil’s leadership, which no other past DC’s would realistically ever be able to deliver- but all the hopes of good citizens are gone in vain- Mangaluru will surely miss a honest, strict and disciplinary Deputy Commissioner- and who was a FRIEND to all, rather than a DEPUTY COMMISSIONER!