In flooded Patiala, an IAS officer prefers to be among people, her promise to stranded locals — we’ll get you out

As Punjab recovers from the aftermath of floods, one of its worst-hit districts Patiala has had a government official who has taken a hands-on approach. Sawhney, the young IAS officer on her maiden posting as the district’s deputy commissioner, has been garnering appreciation and admiration from the people of Patiala as they fight their way through to relief camps.

The locals said that Sawhney has been present among them in-person in times of crisis and has been regularly communicating with people directly to dispel any rumors or misinformation. Leaving her three-year old daughter back home during all these days, she has been on the field till late at night, sometimes even wading through deep waters in order to oversee evacuation operations.

A 2014-batch IAS officer, Sawhney, 33, is the daughter of Delhi-based retired IRS officer Sunil Sawhney. Earlier she has been posted as the ADC of Mohali and Bathinda.

The locals said that Sawhney has been present among them in-person in times of crisis. (Express photo)

While the water levels had started rising and entering residential areas in Patiala on Monday, Sawhney, according to Patiala district administration officials, had started field visits and was on toes for the entire day to identify sensitive areas where evacuation was needed on priority. “By Sunday night, the Army had been called in and nearly 3000 students from Chitkara University, Rajpura, were evacuated on an urgent basis. Sawhney was present throughout the operation which continued until Monday morning. Since the crisis escalated Monday onward, she continued staying on the field till 2 or 3 am daily, before going back home for a brief rest and restarting her next day at 6 am. When the official landline number for got choked owing to the sheer volume of calls we were getting, she started attending calls on her mobile number,” said an official.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Sawhney said that her main focus at the moment was to ensure that the number of casualties were kept to a minimum. “I got myself added in WhatsApp groups of Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs) so that I can answer queries and dispel rumors directly. In such tough times, what people need the most are words of assurance and kindness, people need to know that someone is there for them. I have been in the field for most of the times because that’s how I can directly interact with people and assure them that we will rescue them,” she said.

For instance, when the flood control room Patiala was flooded with messages regarding power failure, she started posting updates on the administration’s official Facebook page, “This is DC Patiala Sakshi Sawhney IAS. This advice is for colonies where rescue operation is going on. 1. The technical team has advised that electricity cannot be turned on while flood water is there. So we have to wait for the water to recede. 2. Accordingly, the query of whether water supply can be turned on — it would depend on when we can turn on the electricity. 3. Whatever you need while you await evacuation, we will provide. 4. However, if a team is evacuating, it is recommended to evacuate as it could take some time for the water level to go down and accordingly the electricity to be turned back on.”

Sawhney said that the toughest part of the evacuation process has been to convince people to leave their homes.
“Urban estate 1 citizens are requested to cooperate with evacuation efforts. It is not advisable to stay if you are being specifically asked to be evacuated. The water level is high,” read her post on the official FB page. Sawhney also provided live updates to the people from the spot. She would alert people about colonies where water levels were expected to rise and those which were being evacuated.

Sawhney said during field visits, she deputes a person to handle her Facebook and Twitter accounts so that no distress message is missed. (Express photo)

The officer added that till now there have been three casualties in Patiala district — a government pharmacist who met with an accident while going for duty, a student from Chitkara University and another resident from Gopal Nagar. “Patiala is threatened by rising waters mainly from Badi Nadi, Ghaggar and Tangri rivulet. Till now we have evacuated nearly 6000 people with help of Army and NDRF and relief operations are on. The worst hit divisions are Patran, Rajpura, Patiala city, Samana and Ghanaur. Nearly 70 villages in the district are still very sensitive,” she said.

Sawhney said during field visits, she deputes a person to handle her Facebook and Twitter accounts so that no distress message is missed. “Sometimes, we have to prioritize evacuation of people who have health conditions or need medical help. So others nearby start assuming that they won’t be evacuated. We keep posting alerts that everyone will be taken out so that they don’t lose patience,” she said.