Son of betel leaf farmer cracks OAS exam

Puri: Inspiration has an extraordinary knack of surfacing in places where it is least expected. It was nothing less than a dream-come-true for betel leaf farmer Sheikh Jahar when he came to know about his son Sheikh Sagir clearing the Odisha Civil Service examination on Wednesday.

Despite financial constraints, Jahar, a resident of Samia village under Kakatpur block of Puri district, left no stone unturned to ensure that his son gets everything required to prepare for the examination.

"I have been doing betel leaf farming to earn a living. I have struggled a lot to provide education to my children. My son never complained of anything and always focussed on studies. He has achieved success only through hard work," said Jahar.

"There are so many people in small places, especially villages, who never get information on various schemes rolled out by the State government. I would try to disseminate information to the people at the grassroots level," Sagir said.

The result of the examination was declared by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) on Wednesday. The Commission has provisionally selected 106 candidates in order of merit based on personality test of the Odisha Civil Services Exam 2017 that was held from December 3 to December 10, 2018.