For about 20 years, there was no power or water supply in a tiny hamlet at Vagaikulam village in Manthiyoor panchayat in Tirunelveli district that housed 20 families. There was no proper road to reach their place. They knocked every door for their basic necessities, but in vain. When they got a new Sub-Collector, as usual, they submitted a complaint, but unlike before, their requests were taken on a serious note and the families got water, electricity and a road. Out of love and respect for this young officer, the villagers named the place after him — Vishnu Nagar.
All this happened a few months ago, but was brought to limelight only recently. Vishnu V., who did this noble deed, is a native of Vytilla in Kochi and currently lives in Tirunelveli with his wife Nandini Nair. Son of late Venugopalan Nair and Susheela, Vishnu is the Sub-Collector of Cheranmahadevi region in Tirunelveli district. However, he is still very uncomfortable with the media glare; he would rather like to put it as a part of his job.
“They named it so in January or February. I was not at all comfortable with that initially. I don’t think anybody would be comfortable with that in such a state. As an officer, I am here to do all these. When they suggested this idea of naming their hamlet after me, I didn’t approve of it because there are rules for it. Also, it was a very low-key affair. However, the young people were adamant. They did so out of respect. Tamil Nadu is one place where you would get appreciated if you work hard,”says Vishnu.
It all happened about six months ago. “Tirunelveli is a remote agrarian area. There are no major industries. Naturally, the challenges were different,”says Vishnu, a 2012 batch officer who assumed office 20 months ago. It was his first posting. “Unlike in Kerala, here, the villages are pretty big. There would be tiny hamlets in each village. This particular hamlet had no power, water, and approach road while the neighbouring villages had all these,” he recalls.
He had received a petition from the villagers. One day, while going for an inspection, he happened to pass this place. Somebody pointed out to their condition. “I went to the hamlet, talked to a couple of children, including college students. There is a B.Com graduate and he narrated the difficulties he faced while studying,” Vishnu recalls.
This visit motivated Vishnu to look into the matter seriously and figure things out. “I understood that the core issue was land dispute. Some people didn’t want them to get these facilities; it was a pretty complex issue. Whatever issues you find in an agrarian society were all there. I spent a few months studying the issue. Tahsildars inspected the place and said there were cases in court and I started looking at the legal side. That was the main hurdle. Eventually, we decided to conduct a resurvey. Later, we called up the concerned people, talked about the issue and convinced them,” says Vishnu.
Vishnu V. inaugurates the project
There were issues till the end. However, the entire force tackled them. “It was more of a social problem than a technological one. It was a four-five-month work. Our Collector was very supportive,” explains Vishnu, an engineer-turned-civil servant. Panchayat president Latha turns emotional when she speaks on the issue. “We have been suffering for 20 years. Sub-collector sir took the initiative. He was very supportive and talked to everyone. Finally, Parvathy amma gave her land first. He was very friendly and instructed all departments to take care of our needs. People liked him and that led to naming the village after him.”
But Vishnu says it was not their toughest assignment. “There are many who do good acts. They may not be in the limelight because they lack news value. Also, this particular project is a collective effort. When something like this happens, only the important people get all the attention, which is wrong,” he opines.
