https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

An Officer’s Efforts To Help A Remote Village In The Desert

IRS Ashok Vishnoi comes from the remote village of Kelansar, situated in the middle of the Thar desert in Rajasthan. Even after becoming a civil servant and getting postings in urban areas, he did not abandon his village and rushed to the villagers’ help whenever the situation demanded. He developed the village schools and provided a new direction to the students. And during the second Covid wave, he stepped in to provide medical aid and saved many lives.
Indian Masterminds Stories

This is the story of a civil servant who has not abandoned his birthplace in the middle of the desert of Rajasthan and keeps going back, to be with his people in their time of need. The bureaucrat is IRS officer Ashok Vishnoi and the village is Kelansar. The village of Kelansar is situated approximately 130 kilometers from Jodhpur, in the middle of the Thar desert. Because of the lack of proper connectivity, the village was quite backward in terms of development. 

However, things slowly started to change when the son of the village Ashok Vishnoi decided to step in and usher in development in all areas, step by step. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Vishnoi, who is currently the Deputy Commissioner of the IT Department in New Delhi, talked about the measures that he took to uplift his village and make lives easier for his people. 

IRS officer Ashok Vishnoi

DEVELOPED SCHOOLS

When Mr. Vishnoi decided to do something for his village, the first area he set his eyes on was education. The village had only government schools and they lacked proper sports areas and equipment. He decided to start his development work from here.

“The sports teacher in one of the schools was a national level player in wrestling and judo. At his request, I made safety mats available for the pupils with the help of a businessman donor. For another school, the villagers and I together contributed and purchased the mats,” Mr. Vishnoi told Indian Masterminds.

This initiative encouraged several girls and boys of the schools to actively participate in sports and 10 students each from both the schools were able to reach the state and national levels. Encouraged by this result, the officer also arranged for 100 sets of tables and benches for the students, who otherwise had to sit on the floor and study.

Also, the school had no proper gate due to which animals used to enter the campus and destroy all the greenery. “Therefore, my father and I set up a huge gate on the entry point to the school for the protection of the premises and the children. We also bought sound systems for the schools’ annual functions and celebrations, and enhanced the greenery in the campus,” Mr. Vishnoi said.

The officer developed the schools of the village

HELP DURING PANDEMIC

The second wave of the pandemic put immense pressure on the health system of the country. During this time, when the whole country was struggling for hospitals beds and oxygen cylinders, Mr. Vishnoi took stock of the situation in his own village. What worried him was that there was a scarcity of hospital beds even in the urban city of Jodhpur, so one can well imagine what would be the situation in the villages in the middle of the desert. Nothing could be worse than traveling over 150 kilometers, spending thousands of rupees, only to know that they had come in vain as there is no bed available for the patient. 

“I realized that the district hospital in my subdivision wasn’t treating Covid patients. The staff wasn’t ready to get into the mess. Therefore, I contacted NGO ‘Seva Bharti’, and they helped me to create a makeshift hospital at a school. I also adopted two wards at the government hospital, and 15 people from the NGO volunteered to take care of the patients. The step was successful and together we could help a lot of people,” the officer said. 

With the help of the contribution from his peers, Mr. Vishnoi brought several oxygen cylinders and concentrators and saved the lives of many people. He is full of praise for the NGO volunteers who put their lives at risk to help the villagers.“The people from the NGO helped me a lot. They weren’t fully vaccinated and still risked their own lives to save the lives of others. I am very grateful to them,” Mr. Vishnoi told Indian Masterminds.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Mohan Yadav CM MP
Madhya Pradesh Aims to Be Global Wellness Hub: CM Mohan Yadav at Spiritual and Wellness Summit in Ujjain
UP Tourism
UP to Showcase Its Spiritual, Cultural Grandeur at PATA 2025 in Bangkok; Global Push for Tourism & Investment
Engineers India Limited EIL
Engineers India Ltd Expects 15–20% Rise in Turnover in FY26 Amid Record Order Book - Details Inside
BEL Bharat Electronics Limited
Bharat Electronics (BEL) & Tata Electronics Ink MoU to Boost Indigenous Semiconductor Solutions - Details Inside
Sanjay Malhotra IAS
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra Cuts FY26 Inflation Forecast to 3.7%, Slashes Repo Rate to 5.5% - All Details Inside
ChhattisgarhGovt_resized
59 Police Officers Promoted in Chhattisgarh Police Department, Including 46 Inspectors to DSP Rank - Check Here
Hardeep S Puri: 11 Years of PM Modi
PM Modi’s 11 Years in Office: A Transformative Journey with Bold Strides in the Energy Sector
Karnataka
Karnataka ADGP Hemant Nimbalkar Transferred Amid Fallout from Bengaluru Stadium Stampede - All Details Here
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Monika Singh
Monika Singh’s Life Beyond the Bureaucracy | Video Interview 
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
Modernising Governance: A Digital Transformation in Gangtok
IMG-20250523-WA0036
Abhishek Singh's SECRET: Vipassana, Anthropology & Smart Answer Writing | Video Interview 
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Divyanshu Pal Nagar IFS
5 Years, 5 Mains, 4 Interviews: How Divyanshu Pal Nagar Stumbled in CSE, Triumphed in IFS - A Lesson for Every Aspirant
Divyanshu Pal Nagar’s inspiring five-year UPSC journey shows how perseverance, disciplined self-study,...
ANUBHAV SINGH UPSC IFS 2024
9 Years, 8 Attempts, 7 Failures: How Anubhav Singh Cracked UPSC IFS 2024 with AIR 3 Against All Odds | Exclusive
Anubhav Singh’s inspiring journey to UPSC IFS Rank 3 showcases relentless perseverance, strategic preparation,...
Jogender Sihag
“I Cleared UPSC, But My Grandfather isn’t Here to Hear it,” Jogender Sihag, AIR 521, UPSC CSE 2024
"Life is short; make the most of it, whether in civil service or any other field. Just have a clear vision...
Social Media
Tiger jump Sundarban
Stunning Viral Video Shows Royal Bengal Tiger Making Spectacular 30-Foot Leap Across River in Sunderbans - See It Here
Retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda shared the clip online, which quickly went...
shubham kumar ias marriage
IAS Topper Weds BPSC Topper: Shubham Kumar Marries IRS Officer Priyangi Mehta in Patna; Wedding Video Goes Viral
Topper Couple Alert: Shubham Kumar, Priyangi Mehta’s Wedding Grabs Spotlight in Bihar
parveen kaswan elephant
Elephant Outsmarts Electric Fence! IFS Parveen Kaswan Shares Incredible Video!
In the now-viral 51-second clip, the intelligent giant approaches a wooden pole supporting high-voltage...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Mohan Yadav CM MP
Madhya Pradesh Aims to Be Global Wellness Hub: CM Mohan Yadav at Spiritual and Wellness Summit in Ujjain
UP Tourism
UP to Showcase Its Spiritual, Cultural Grandeur at PATA 2025 in Bangkok; Global Push for Tourism & Investment
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Monika Singh
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
IMG-20250523-WA0036
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT