Bhubaneswar: 23-year-old Sandhya Samarath is in the limelight for clearing the Odisha Civil Services Examination-2017 from insurgent-hit Malkangiri.
Malkangiri district is one of the remotest areas and a hotbed of Naxals in India.
Daughter of Ramdev Samarath and a resident of Salimi village under Mathili block in the district, Sandhya secured ranked 91st in the civil service examination in her first attempt without going to coaching classes.
Sandhya, an alumnus of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya pursued Post Graduation at the Ravenshaw University after graduating from Bhubaneswar BJB College. Currently preparing for MPhil, Sandhya has now set her eyes on UPSC examination.
“I have been selected in my first attempt so everyone in the family is happy. The best part is that I was not expecting this good news. I am currently engaged in research so I was not able to allot time for this exam properly. I was only studying 2-3 hrs per day for civil services,” Sandhya revealed to media persons.
“Journey from Malkangiri to Cuttack was a difficult one. There were several financial problems in my family but they managed to afford my education. Coming from interior parts of Malkangiri to Bhubaneswar was also challenging as it took me some time to adjust to the big city life. After becoming department topper, my father allowed me to study further,” she added.
It was not only Sandhya who is excited but the locals are also celebrating Sandhya’s success.
The results Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) were announced on Wednesday. Out of 106 successful candidates, 42 were women, 21 from SC category, 21 from ST category and 13 under SEBC category.