New Delhi: Dr S K Nanda (Retd IAS: 1978: GJ), a former bureaucrat of Gujarat Cadre and a native of Odisha’s Puri, died of a cardiac arrest in the USA on Friday. He was 68.
He suffered a cardiac arrest while under treatment for pneumonia at a hospital in Ithaca, New York State. Sources say he accompanied his wife while visiting their children in the US last week.
He retired as Additional Chief Secretary, Home, when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister. However, during Anandiben Patel’s tenure as CM, even after being the senior-most bureaucrat in the state, he was superseded by 1981-batch IAS officer D. J. Pandian picked as Chief Secretary, Gujarat.
Considered among few promising officers he worked in close coordination with New Delhi dispensation post May 2014.
During his formative years in the service he served in various districts as Assistant Collector and as District Collector in Dang, Baroda, Panchmahals, Banaskanta, Junagadh. He also served as the “guardian secretary” of Dang district for an extended period and authored a book in 2014 titled Dangs: The Little Known Paradise of India.
Having expertise in ham radio operations, was the first to utilize amateur radio to establish communication with Amreli district as Relief Commissioner of Gujarat during a cyclone in 1997. In 2001, following the Kutch earthquake on January 26, he chaired the Gujarat Institute of Amateur Radio (GIAR).
Nanda, a native of Puri (Odisha), was the chairperson of the Jagannath Cultural Academy and Research Centre (JCARC) and the Odisha Socio-Cultural Association (OSCA), which established an Odisha-styled Jagannath temple in Adalaj, Gandhinagar, in 2014.
Despite being part of a service having anonymity as a hallmark Nanda was always an approachable to all, whether it be journalists or the general public. He was also known for responding to queries from common people, attending calls from everyone, and replying with transparency.
