ADILABAD: A. Santhi Kumari, who has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Telangana, is recalled with fondness by people of Adilabad, as she had been the district’s first woman collector.
Even today, people of Adilabad remember Santhi Kumari for her discipline and straightforwardness. She came to the rescue of cotton farmers when private cotton and ginning traders formed a syndicate and offered prices lower than the minimum statutory price (MSP).
Unhappy private traders and local political leaders lobbied for Santhi Kumari’s transfer. They succeeded in getting her transferred even though she had worked for just nine months.
Farmers had gone on to agitate for a week demanding that the state government cancel the collector’s transfer. Santhi Kumari herself intervened and requested them to withdraw their protest.
People also recall how she filled vacant government jobs in a transparent manner, without giving any scope for corruption.
