Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra

Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, born in 1962 to Sahitya Akademi award winning writer Mohapatra Nilamani Sahu and Prasanna Kumari Devi was doubtless a cut above the rest. It was his ambition since his childhood days to join the Indian Administrative Service and he did so in 1986 . He saw this job as a god sent opportunity to serve the country . At every stage he tried to make a difference till his life was tragically cut short by covid. He always had the well being of the common man at the core of his heart and he exhibited this in an unparalleled manner be it as a District Development Officer of Surendranagar when he made it the first district of Gujarat to implement the Integrated Wasteland Development Project or when he was battling for life in the ICU working all the while to ensure the production and supply of oxygen to hospitals across the country during the height of the covid crisis. It was thanks to his extraordinary efforts that many lives could be saved. He was a visionary and it was this quality which propelled him to the forefront . The Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme which he piloted later in his career actually symbolized what he stood for right from the beginning of his bureaucratic life.