JHARKHAND: A few days ago the Deputy Commissioner of Koderma in Jharkhand had gone out to distribute blankets to the poor. Standing in the line was Sapna - a frail girl, hardly 11 years old. On enquiry, the DC was told her parents had died recently and the child had nowhere to go.
Acting out of instinct, the DC drove Sapna to the nearest Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, registering himself as her guardian.
Ramesh Gholap, the IAS officer, felt a task more important than signing papers was accomplished. Gholap had experienced a similar feeling a few days ago when he had sent three brothers and their sister to a school, ensuring they were provided for under various government schemes.
He has asked the officials of women and child development and social security departments to ensure Sapna gets Rs 2,000 every month, and a tutor takes care of her studies.
Each time Gholap meets such children his memories take him miles away - to Mahagaon in Maharashtra's Solapur district, where he sold bangles along with his mother after his father’s death. Gholap couldn’t do much else because of his polio-stricken leg. "I believe that the situation which I overcame has given me the biggest gift – sensitivity," says the IAS officer.
That empathy has seen him rescuing at least 35 children working in garages and hotels and sending them to schools when he was posted in Khunti and Bermo. "I don’t want others to suffer the adversities which I had to endure. I try my best to help as God has given me the right opportunity," says the officer. Little surprise Gholap is very popular among children. Ask Anshita Singh, a Class 10 student.
"During a programme I told DC Sir that I too wanted to be an IAS officer. He asked me to come to his office or residence. When I reached his house hesitatingly after a few days, he recognized me immediately and guided me for over an hour about the academic approach I should have to crack the civil services exam," said Anshita.
Locals also praise him for his helpful nature. "Many Deputy Commissioners come and go, but this man has made his mark among the school-going children," says Manoj Kumar, who runs coaching classes for school students.
Gholap had to choose Diploma in Education despite scoring well in Class 12, because that was the cheapest course he could afford. He completed his D. Ed and pursued graduation in Arts simultaneously from an open university. He managed to get a teacher's job in 2009.
For his family, it was a dream come true but it was not what Gholap really wanted to do. He left his job and after clearing the State Institute of Administrative Careers (SIAC) exam, he was selected for IAS in 2012.
Help for a better life
Before helping children in Koderma, Ramesh Gholap has rescused at least 35 kids working in garages and hotels and sending them to schools when he was posted in Khunti and Bermo. "I don’t want others to suffer the adversities which I had to endure. I try my best to help as God has given me the right opportunity," says the 2012-batch IAS officer.
He ensures that the children he has rescued are provided for under various government schemes. For Gholap, it is a task more important than signing papers.