Meet Kerala-born IAS officer Roshan Jacob credited for containing COVID-19 spread in Lucknow

Roshan Jacob, 2004 batch IAS officer, took charge as the in-charge DM of Lucknow on April, 17 when the serving DM tested positive for COVID-19.

For a country seeking bureaucrats willing to take the lead and effect change in trying circumstances, Roshan Jacob offers the classic case study.

In the last few weeks, Lucknow – the teeming Uttar Pradesh capital – has witnessed a steep decline in the daily spike in COVID-19 cases. From nearly 6,000 positive cases in the third week of April, the city reported 40 fresh positive cases on June 4.

Roshan Jacob, 43, a UP cadre IAS officer of the 2004 batch, who was sent on a special assignment to handle COVID-19 spread in Lucknow between April 17 and June 2, after the serving district magistrate contracted the pandemic, has earned praise from many, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, for helping improve the precarious pandemic situation in Uttar Pradesh capital.

Jacob is not new in UP’s vast, sprawling bureaucracy. In her career as a civil servant spanning over 17 years, Jacob has many feathers in her cap.

From streamlining the LPG distribution in a backward district like Gonda in 2013, to facilitating use of social media in addressing civic problems in predominantly urban districts like Kanpur Nagar district in 2014, Jacob has many firsts to her credit.

Three years ago, she became the first woman director of Uttar Pradesh’s Mining Department, a posting that the best of civil servants would, normally, be disinclined to accept.

Last year in May, under her supervision, UP became the first state in the country to begin mining work during the lockdown. Noted the UP IAS Association in a tweet:

With the efforts of UP's first woman mining director IAS Roshan Jacob, UP became the 1st state in the country to start mining work during the #lockdown.
To prevent #CoronaInfection, each lessee will have to submit their #COVIDー19 Management Plan to the DM https://t.co/1EBvyCZDCq

— UP IAS Association (@upiasasso) May 24, 2020

“She believes in meeting people. Initially we hesitated when she would visit households and hospitals. But, it turned out that is her strength and that is what worked,” says an official in the Lucknow administration.

Currently posted as Director/Secretary, Mining, with additional charge of IG (Stamps and Registrations,) Jacob was born in Trivandrum.

Her mother Aleyamma Varghese and her father TK Jacob were government employees in Kerala.

Jacob, a single child, attended the Sarvodaya Vidyalaya school in Trivandrum before joining Government College for Women for a bachelor’s and later Department of English at Kerala University for a masters in English.

This was followed by a PhD as a UGC - Junior Research Fellow (JRF). She completed her PhD while in service.

READ: COVID-19 lockdown to be eased by these Indian states from today; here are the details

Jacob, a mother of two children - a son and a daughter - writes poetry in her spare time. Her maiden collection of English poems ‘A Handful of Stardust’ was released by Congress leader, Shashi Tharoor, in 2012.

Jacob is married to her batch mate, Dr Arindam Bhattacharya, an Indian Foreign Service officer, posted with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Delhi.

Arindam, a trained doctor, stayed in Lucknow for a month while she focused on COVID 19 containment in Lucknow. The diplomat is credited with being the first Indian to write a book in Mandarin Chinese.

Jacob’s first posting in UP was as a probationary IAS officer in Jhansi.

She went on to become District Magistrate (DM) of Basti, Gonda, Kanpur Nagar, Rae Bareli and Bulandshahar, apart from working in different departments.

While Jacob has been Director of the Mining department for three years now, she was recently given charge of Secretary (reporting directly to the CM) Mining as well. She also holds the charge of IG (Stamps and Mining), UP.

Apart from her other acquisitions during her postings in UP, Jacob has learnt to speak, read, and write Hindi, the state's official language.

She spoke with MoneyControl on what worked for containing COVID-19 in Lucknow and the challenges while working as a Kerala-born IAS officer in Uttar Pradesh. Excerpts:

You were given charge of Lucknow for about one-and-a- half months from April 17 to June 2. The daily spike in COVID-19 cases came down from 6,000 to less than 50 last week? What worked?

Frankly, the virus chose to recede. I think, in a pandemic there can’t be any heroes other than people, who suffer losses.

Anyway, when I joined Lucknow, my first impression was that the city was in panic. Every positive patient wanted a hospital bed, while 85 percent would get treated at homes. Thus, ensuring beds for the 10-15 percent of people who needed it became an issue for us. While the virus was at its peak, we had to build a bottoms-up strategy. We started reaching out to infected people and gave them medicine kits.

Basically, it was a better performing Rapid Response Team (RRTs), better follow-up of home isolation while we had to take care of hospitalized patients, that helped. We made sure that the Command Control Centre regulating hospital admissions, was not overburdened. There was a time when the Command Centre would ensure only a handful of admissions. But in the last week, we had no waiting list of people to be hospitalised. This was partly possible because cases were reduced, but the improved protocol also worked.

Also, read: COVID-19 vaccination drive | Uttar Pradesh vs Maharashtra vaccine race heats up

During the peak ten days when the Lucknow DM was away and oxygen kept us awake at nights, Lucknow’s Divisional Commissioner Ranjan Kumar was a big help. Together we would almost hourly implement oxygen rationing to hospitals to avert mass casualties.  Awanish Awasthi, sir (Additional Chief Secretary) was actively involved in oxygen coordination with Centre and monitoring of oxygen tankers and trains movement through the  command centre. Overall, it was a team effort. Everybody - doctors, officials, police, and administration - worked as a team.

How do these Rapid Response Teams work?

Earlier, we used to do RT PCR tests and had to wait for the reports to come before isolating those who test positive. But we started handing over the drug kits to people with symptoms, without waiting for the test results. The RRT would comprise of a doctor, a nurse, and a pharmacist, who would visit symptomatic people. Just making phone calls wouldn’t do. I also visited homes and hospitals. Not just because I love to meet people but also because I noticed that, instead of looking at COVID-19 as a disease, people thought it was an invading enemy. I insisted that no house would be sealed and barricaded so that the perception of fear regarding health workers would go. That changed the dialogue completely.

Also, read :Top BJP leader BL Santosh praises CM Yogi Adityanath amid speculation of change of guard in UP

What were the decisions that you took during your tenure, which worked?

In the first few days of joining, I spoke to the government and the Principal Secretary and issued an order withdrawing the earlier directive that mandated a referral from the command centre for getting a bed in the hospital. The perception went around that because of the Chief Medical Officer, patients were not getting beds. We loosened up the system. There is no need for a referral letter in a pandemic. We also started a system called ‘Upchaar’ for online registration for COVID-19 hospitals in Lucknow. Of the 691 private hospitals in Lucknow, only 59 worked as COVID-19 dedicated hospitals because of a cumbersome process. I feel that all friendly neighbourhood hospitals willing to treat COVID-19 patients should be allowed to do so. So we need to increase the access of people to hospitals even in the event of a potential third wave. We also lodged FIR’s against private hospitals for overpricing.

COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: All you need to know about manufacturing and pricing

From being born in Kerala to have worked in UP, what challenges have you faced?

It is challenging, no doubt. But the level of exposure and work expected from an officer in UP is enriching. It is an opportunity to grow and deliver. As a woman officer, one good thing about UP, the heart of India, is that people here have been welcoming. When I joined, I had difficulties speaking in Hindi.

What has been the most challenging posting so far?

My postings as DM were more challenging in a way. But as Director of the Mining Department, your job is to ensure that people get affordable access to minerals. So, while you are supposed to facilitate legal mining, you must stop illegal mining as well. This is a big challenge, indeed.