In a sudden turn of events, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner Shilpa Nag announced her resignation at a press conference on Thursday, citing “harassment” by Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri. This highlighted the chaos and cracks in the administrative machinery in COVID-19 management.
Ms. Nag said she was not quitting as the Commissioner of MCC, but she was resigning from the IAS and would send her resignation letter to the Chief Secretary seeking to be relieved from her duties.
Stating that the COVID management situation in Mysuru district was far from ideal, Ms. Nag said, “The DC is pointing fingers at the MCC when a disparity in official death data was pointed out by the media and certain politicians. The official death numbers and death audit happens directly under the supervision of the DC, and she is the one who declares the same on a daily basis,” Ms. Nag said. That there was a lack of coordination on COVID-19 management stems from Ms. Nag’s letter, which stated that the MCC’s efforts to bring Project Step One and Infosys to Mysuru to fill the gaps were quashed by the “inability to receive constructive feedback and the high-handedness of the DC”.
Meanwhile, official sources confirmed that Chief Secretary Ravi Kumar was apprised of the developments in the city and that he would visit Mysuru on Friday to sort out the matter.
Ms. Nag accused the Deputy Commissioner of constantly calling the higher-ups and complaining to them that nothing was being done in the MCC. “If she [Ms. Sindhuri] has any personal grudge against me, let her take it out on me. Why target the officials who are all working non-stop to combat the pandemic?” Ms. Nag asked. “Either change your attitude or leave Mysuru, because it is getting a bad name. If she cannot go, I will,” she said.
