On Thursday night, a video from Guntur's Narasaraopet in which the Collector was seen losing his cool at a doctor went viral. In the video, Guntur Collector Samuel Anand was heard yelling at a government doctor from Nadendla Primary Healthcare Centre. TNM spoke to Dr Somla Naik, the doctor who was at the receiving end of the Collector’s ire, to find out what had exactly transpired.
Speaking to TNM, Dr Somla Naik said he had only raised a genuine concern about the lack of beds at the Nadendla Primary Healthcare Centre due to which some aged people had to be sent back home. He said, “I raised a concern to which the collector responded angrily. He dismissed it as lies. The Collector lost his cool in front of the entire medical staff who had come for the review meeting. It was very insulting."
A pained Dr Naik asked whether he was a criminal for the Collector to order his arrest.
“It is demotivating when you are given a response like this when concerns are raised. Both the Collector and I are working to serve the people during the pandemic. He threatened to suspend me several times during the interaction. I then told him it would be difficult to work if this is how he is going to react to concerns raised. I also offered to resign”, added Dr Naik.
According to the doctor, when the Collector threatened to suspend him several times, he too lost his cool. He responded by saying, “Who are you to suspend me?”. The Collector allegedly got further infuriated by this. What happened after this was captured in the video that later went viral.
In the video that had surfaced, the Collector can be heard angrily saying, “What nonsense. Where is this doctor from? Take him away and arrest him. How dare he asks me-- who am I? Arrest him under disaster management sections. Take him away.” Following which the doctor can be seen taking his files and leaving the auditorium.
Watch: Guntur Collector loses his cool
The doctor was taken to the DSP’s office where he was asked to take a seat. He was not put in the lockup. After around four hours he was asked to leave.
When asked if he had expected the Andhra Pradesh Government Doctors’ Association (APGDA) to stand by him so strongly, Dr Naik said, “I am a member of the association too. We always stand by each other during such times. I am thankful for their support.” The APGDA representatives met the District Medical Health Officer and demanded that no action be taken against Dr Naik and an inquiry be ordered into the concerns raised by him.
“It seems like both the Collector’s and my blood pressure shot up suddenly. It was a minor issue which could have been sorted easily had the Collector asked the DMHO to look into the concern raised. I am pained by what happened”, said Dr Naik.
Before concluding the conversation, Dr Somala Naik said, “I don’t hold any grudge against the Collector. I never intended to make him angry. He is a senior official, I will always respect him.”
Read: Video: Doctor speaks out on shortage of beds, Guntur Collector orders his arrest