Telangana Governor, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Wednesday said the Covid situation in the state could have been better if some of the problems were initially dealt in a cautious manner.
She said there was some lag initially due to certain problems but the TRS government later took various steps to handle the situation, taking into account various suggestions, including from her.
Interacting with media persons on completion of one year in office, Soundararajan said as a medical doctor herself, she was concerned about under testing and had informed the government, and it later ramped up testing.
She said she was also concerned over only one hospital treating Covid patients and lack of treating facilities in the districts. She also felt that private hospitals should have been roped in earlier to treat the patients.
She revealed that she wrote 4-5 letters to the government, giving various suggestions. “I had some apprehensions about the procedures and proceedings. I was worried about corona situation in the state not as Governor but as a doctor,” she said
Stating that her role is complementary and not contradictory to the government, Soundararajan said her words should be taken as sensibly and not sensationally.
She also said whatever she spoke was for the good of the people. “I know my constitutional responsibilities. I am only complementing the services and acting like a catalyst and not for any controversy. The governments at the Centre and state are doing their best in containing the pandemic,” she said.
“I am a physician-turned-politician. When I talk as a physician, it’s taken as a politician. If I am talking as a Governor, it will be taken as a politician’s words. There is nothing without politics. Even in a family and office, we say ‘why you are doing politics’.”
Replying to a query, she described Covid as the biggest challenge of her first year in office.
Soundararajan said Telangana should improve in the health sector, education and tribal welfare.
The Governor feels that Telangana should implement Ayushman Bharat scheme of the Centre, saying this will benefit people of the state. She cited an example of Tamil Nadu where the state health insurance scheme was incorporated into the central scheme.
She claimed that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao told her that the state will implement the scheme in due course.
The Governor expressed hope that the first vaccine for Covid-19 would come from India and within India, from Telangana. She expects the vaccine to be launched in six months to a year. “The vaccine, which has some protocols, should be safe once it is given to the people. We should not be in a hurry. It’s not an ordinary virus. It is mutating fast and changing and acting in different ways,” she said.
Cherishing her association with the people of Telangana during the last one year as the Governor, she said that she was overwhelmed by the love and affection of the people of Telangana who call her as their ‘Akka’ (sister).
“I am the daughter of Tamil Nadu and sister of Telangana. By whatever name they call me as ‘akka’ or ‘amma’, what matters most to me is their great affection and I am very happy about their love towards me,” the Governor added.
Asked about what she liked the most about Hyderabad and Telangana, Soundararajan said that she liked the Hyderabadi biryani, Telangana people’s traditions, dressing, culture, affection and humble smiles, and saris.
As part of the programme, the Governor initiated the “Chancellor Connects Alumni,” which she termed it as her “dream project” to connect alumni of all the universities to contribute their might for their alma mater.
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