Christy Fernandes, former IAS officer and secretary to former President Pratibha Patil, passes away in Kochi

KOCHI: Retired IAS officer Christy Fernandes, secretary to former President Pratibha Patil, passed away. He was 73. He died early Monday morning at a private hospital in Kochi due to old age ailments. He was undergoing treatment for the past two weeks at Lisie Hospital in Kochi. His funeral will be held on December 6 at St George Church cemetery at Clappana in Kollam.

Dr Christy Fernandes contested as a left front candidate against UDF candidate K V Thomas in Ernakulamin the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Although a native of Clappana in Kollam, he lived in Kaloor, Kochi for a long time. He took over as secretary when Pratibha Patil became the President and before that he worked as secretary of urban development department and principal secretary of tourism department during Narendra Modi's tenure as chief minister of Gujarat.