With the advancement of India, the girls of the Naxalites-affected areas like Gaya are reaching new heights. Despite the fact that the Imam Ganj block area of the Bihar district is regarded to be the most Naxalite-infested area in the state, five girls have been recruited in the defence sector for the very first time. It is noteworthy that there were no adequate resources in the area but that did not stop them from preparing with full dedication and hard work to serve the country.

Among these five daughters who bagged their positions in the defence is Poonam Kumari. This aspirant is a resident of Telwari village in the Kothi Police Station area, about 80 kilometres from Gaya district headquarters.

Poonam has been recruited into the Border Security Force (BSF). After a path full of hurdles, she will now head to Siliguri, West Bengal, for further training. Talking about her hard work, she used to pedal 12 kilometres to coaching every day where she used to practice for general competition, as the financial condition of her family did not allow her to afford to send the budding aspirant to coaching via any mode of transportation. But Poonam’s dedication was above all the barriers. She used to travel at 9 in the morning every day from her village Telwari to the block headquarters in Imam Ganj, a distance of roughly 12 kilometres, and study at the coaching institute there.

The toughest challenge for Poonam was getting physical training after passing the written test. For this, retired army officer Manjit Kumar Singh of the area came forward to help her and he gave free physical training to Poonam of which she was able to achieve this position. Let us inform you that Poonam’s father Rajesh Das works as a security guard in Chennai. On the other hand, her mother is a housewife and does farming in the village. Along with this, her uncle Niranjan Kumar has also played a key role in Poonam’s success as he supported Poonam in every way possible before the written examination.

Meanwhile, Poonam’s selection for BSF is a matter of great pride and happiness not only for her family but for the entire Panchayat area, as it is the first time that daughters from remote areas of Gaya have been selected for BSF.