Beela Venkatesan, who gained popularity as Tamil Nadu's Health Secretary during COVID-19, passes away at 56

Beela Venkatesan

Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Beela Venkatesan, who was a highly regarded bureaucrat known for her dedication to public service, passed away on Wednesday, September 24.

She was battling a brain tumour for several years, The News Minute reported. She was 56 at the time of her passing. At the time of her death, she was serving as the Secretary of the Energy Department in Tamil Nadu.

Venkatesan became a familiar face in Tamil Nadu during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

As the Health Secretary of the state at that time, she gained popularity in households across Tamil Nadu while delivering crucial updates through her daily media briefings regarding the COVID-19 situation in the state

Venkatesan’s journey to the civil services began after she completed her MBBS from Madras Medical College (MMC). She was a doctor by profession and cleared her civil services exam in 1997. She was initially posted in Bihar. Her posting later happened in Jharkhand, before she got a transfer to Tamil Nadu.

Once she was posted in Tamil Nadu, she went on to hold a series of key positions across departments in the state, which was a proof of her versatility and administrative calibre. Among her notable assignments were Sub-Collector of Chengalpattu, Commissioner of Fisheries, Commissioner for Town and Country Planning, Principal Secretary of Health, and Commissioner for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy.

Her commitment to governance and public welfare also came from her family background. Beela's mother, Rani Venkatesan, who was a native of Nagercoil, was a senior Congress leader and a former MLA. Her father, SN Venkatesan, meanwhile, is a retired Director General of Police, The News Minute reported.