Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday surprised many who were under an impression that he was unwell in the wake of media reports.
A few days earlier too, he had to clarify to the media that he was “fit and fine” following adverse social media reports on his health. A Kerala-based web portal had also reported that he would visit the US for a health checkup, for which he may not be available for four months.
The media reports had led to speculations that someone from Patnaik’s family would take his charge when he would be out of country for treatment.
But Saturday’s development proved all wrong as Patnaik acted smart keeping himself engaged in public work. Many officers, who were under the impression that the Chief Minister was unwell, felt that he is very active and taking interest in discussions on different welfare schemes and the progress in recruitment drive.
Unlike his usual earlier style, Patnaik interacted directly with the Secretaries of different departments and issued instructions. He inquired whether the Secretaries are undertaking district tours regularly. If not, he asked them to do their jobs soon after the Assembly session ends.
It may be mentioned that the Secretaries and Directors of different departments had stopped district tours since November, particularly after the Union Government implemented the demonetisation programme. The officers’ tour schedules were also affected due to the panchayat elections.
Besides addressing the Secretaries, Patnaik was also busy on Saturday in attending the Assembly, a function of empowering disable persons and his own official work.
He too cleared senior doctors’ promotion files which were pending since some days. For the first time, more than 50 senior doctors of medical colleges were promoted as professors and given posting in different places across the State.