BIHAR: It is like a dream come true for youngsters in Rehal village under Nauhatta block in the Naxal-hit Rohtas district in Bihar. Considered a hotbed of the red rebels not long ago, the village now has restless youngsters ready to study and achieve higher goals, thanks to a young IPS officer, Ashish Bharti.
Bharti, a 2011-batch IPS officer who was posted as Superintendent of Police (SP) of Rohtas district early this year, opened a library in the village last month to cater to the demand of youngsters preparing for various competitive exams and pursuing higher studies. Books have been provided to the library where students as well as job aspirants sit together to prepare for various exams, including those conducted by UPSC and the Bihar Public Service Commission.
Located at 1,700 ft above the sea level on the Kaimur plateau, Rehal was witness to the killing of Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sanjay Kumar Singh on February 15, 2002 by armed guerillas of the proscribed Maoist Communist Centre. The young officer had to pay with his life for carrying out development works and refusing to yield to pressure from the left extremists.
“Even security personnel feared to step inside the village after the DFO’s murder,” recalled a former mukhiya (village head) Kuddus Amsari. “Almost two decades later, the village presents a different picture altogether. Youngsters can be spotted engrossed in their studies at the library recently opened by SP Bharti,”
The sleepy hamlet is humming with activities. Students from far-flung villages also visit the library for studies. One of the beneficiaries, Chitranjan Kumar (20), said, “It was an arduous task for scores of students like me to visit the nearby town to purchase books and magazines to prepare for competitive exams. The facility is now at our doorstep.”
Usha Kumari (19), a resident of Old Rehal village, is all praise for the SP, who has engaged a few subordinates to oversee the functioning of the library.
“The library is like a boon for girls who can’t go outside the village to prepare for examinations. Things are more difficult for girls belonging to tribal communities,” she said. The visitors to the library include youngsters from nearby Kubba village as well.
Bharti said, “The idea to open a library for the students of the remote village struck my mind during a search operation. I met a few youngsters who were eager to pursue studies but were unable to do so because of poverty and lack of facilities. I am happy to do something for them.”
Another library has been opened at Dhansa village, about 40 km from Rehal. Dhansa, too, is a Maoist hotbed. Apart from books for competitive exams, novels, collections of short stories and other works of literature are available for the visitors. Works of renowned authors like Rabindranath Tagore and Munshi Premchand also adorn the shelves of the newly opened libraries at Rehal and Dhansa.
Bharti, who has a penchant for teaching students, said, “Education is the only means for moulding innocent young people and showing them the right direction. The need is to guide them properly.”
He is all praise for his subordinates for supporting him in the endeavour. No doubt, there are officers who pass out from prestigious institutes with profound knowledge of the subject of their interest. “I do visit these libraries from time to time and sometimes coach the students as well,” he said.
Bharti, a native of Nalanda, home district of chief minister Nitish Kumar, has also set up a library in the premises of the SP’s office, which is frequented by youngsters coming to the office for their work. Around four years ago, he had opened another library in Maoist-hit Dharhara village in Munger district, which is still operational.
His wife, Swapna G Meshram, an IPS officer of the same batch, doesn’t lag behind in lending her support to him. Bharti gained much popularity among youngsters during his stint as Senior Superintendent of Police of Bhagalpur, where he used to coach them for free during his leisure.