This protector of woods is not your typical officer

Taking inspiration from his very fit father Harnadha Rao, Koteswara learned to take care of his health and achieved numerous medals and appreciation for cycling ever since he was a child.
Uttarakavatam Koteswara Rao
Uttarakavatam Koteswara Rao
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KHAMMAM: In a life rooted in the wild, Uttarakavatam Koteswara Rao, a divisional forest officer (DFO), manages to excel beyond his demanding duties. A passionate athlete and father of three children, he has achieved medals in swimming, cycling and powerlifting. He is not just an inspiration for his colleagues and family, but also for people who feel bogged down by their mundane and monotonous work life.

As testament to his talents, Koteswara has taken part in numerous state and national-level competitions. His two daughters and son have also proven their athletic prowess by playing kabaddi at the state and national level. His elder daughter, Harshitha, plays for the national under-17 kabaddi team and the younger daughter, Cherisma, plays kabaddi at the zonal level, while his son is a track athlete and a tennis player.

The 42-year-old works as a DFO in Kothagudem and is a native of a tribal village Labba in Patapatnam mandal of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh. He joined as a forest range officer in 2006.

When Koteswara was a student, he would regularly cycle 10 km from his village to his intermediate school in Kottur mandal headquarters. Later, to complete his college degree he rode his cycle 35 km to Patapatnam every day.

“My native village is a very remote place, situated in between two hills, with no road facility or bus service. I got habitual to riding my cycle every day to reach school or college during those days and gradually my passion for cycling kept growing,” Koteswara told TNIE.

Taking inspiration from his very fit father Harnadha Rao, Koteswara learned to take care of his health and achieved numerous medals and appreciation for cycling ever since he was a child.

In 2002, Koteswara clinched first place in the botany wing of the Andhra University where he studied MSc. He also secured first place in 200-metre running, second place in 400-metre running and first place in swimming at zonal-level competitions held in Bhupalapally in 2020.

He also secured first place in the 40 km cycling held in Hyderabad in October 2024 and recently he secured fifth place in the 40 km cycling at national level competitions held in Raipur of Chhattisgarh where 30 people participated.

At the end of his long list of achievements comes the powerlifting wherein he clinched first place in the 66 kg powerlifting category in the veteran wing and third place in the open category.

“I tell my staff to maintain fitness and save money to safeguard themselves health and wealth-wise,” Koteswara said, adding his goal was to achieve more medals at the national level and stand a role model to others.

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