Ch. Jeevana Padal, a 22-year-old young tribal woman, is jubilant after clearing the Group-I examination conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), and she is the first woman from the interior Agency area who will be donning the police uniform of the rank of a DSP.
Hailing from Kilagada hamlet of Munchingputtu mandal in Alluri Sitharama Raju district, a Maoist hotbed, Ms. Jeevana has come up trumps, having cleared the examination in the first attempt.
Celebrations began at her residence soon after the results were declared by the APPSC on August 17.
After completing her primary education at Pedabayulu and high school education in Narsipatnam and Visakhapatnam, Ms. Jeevana has opted to pursue the BiPC course in her Intermediate.
“I have always dreamt of donning the white coat. However, my attempts to clear the medical entrance examination have turned futile,” Ms. Jeevana told The Hindu on August 18 (Friday).
“My father, Ch. Raja Padal, a government teacher at Jolaputtu, has suggested me to aim for the Group-I examination to realise my dream of serving the people,” she said.
Later, Ms. Jeevana joined the Visakha Women’s Degree College in Visakhapatnam to pursue her undergraduate course. In the final year, she joined a private institution in the city and started preparing for the Group-I examination.
Full credit to ITDA
After clearing the preliminary examination, she joined the Youth Training Centre (YTC) at Vepagunta, through which the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) was imparting coaching for the Group-I and Civils aspirants from the Agency areas. Ms. Jeevana had appeared for the interview in August last.
Giving full credit to the ITDA, Ms. Jeevana said, “Without its support I would not have succeeded. The ITDA has shown me the exact path and imparted the skillset to crack the Mains examination.”
“I slogged my guts out for about six hours a day. Former ITDA Project Officer R. Gopala Krishna has given me enormous support, after which I started believing in myself,” Ms. Jeevana said.
On being asked if she was the first DSP-rank officer from the district, Ms. Jeevana said, “We have some police personnel in our family, but no one is of the DSP rank.”
Expressing happiness over his daughter’s success, Mr. Raja Padal said, “Ms. Jeevana has made a determined effort. The role played by the ITDA in streamlining education in the Agency area is immense. Soon, many students from the region will achieve greater heights.”
Another young tribal woman to crack the examination was Venkata Satya Keerthi from Anakapalli Rural, and she would be recruited as Lay Secretary in the Health Department, a Group-I rank officer post.
In 2022, the ITDA had proposed to offer free coaching for the Civil Services examinations in coordination with the 21st Century Software Solutions. The ITDA had initially conducted interviews to identify young talent.
ITDA Project Officer V. Abhishek, who was the Sub-Collector of Paderu, had himself conducted interviews along with a few experts, and selected 50 youngsters. They were imparted training at the YTC in Vepagunta.
“The students have undergone good coaching with discipline, and we are very happy that two girls passed the examination with flying colours. This will motivate many more youngsters in the Agency. The coaching camp will continue this year also,” Mr. Abhishek said.
