Uttarakhand: Woman From Remote Village Without Electricity, Road Clears UPSC

As a child, Priyanka used to help her father in his farms and later moved to Gopeshwar, some 115 km away from her home, and taught around 40 students for some extra money.

According to The Times Of India report, when the results of the civil services exam were announced, Priyanka was in Dehradun. She couldn't inform her family about the results for two days as her village has no power supply, proper road, and barely has mobile connectivity.

It was only on Thursday, after Priyanka's father went atop a small hill for a phone signal, that she could connect to him and inform him that she secured 257th rank in the country.

"There were no good schools in Rampur. I studied at the primary school there, then moved to Junior High School in Toporti (about 1-2 km from Rampur). After classes got over, I would go help my father in the fields. It was the sole source of income for us," she told the media.

After she did well in her Class X boards, her teachers recommended her to be moved to a better institution. Her parents then sent her to Gopeshwar, where she studied at the Government Girls Inter College and then did he BA.

After doing well in both, she moved to Dehradun, where she pursued a law degree at DAV College. At Gopeshwar, she started taking tuition for other students.

"I would teach about 40 children. Even now, I teach 20 kids. And I still help my father on the farm," she said.

Her home is a small mud house which she shares with seven others. "You have to trek 15 km (from Dewal, the nearest point with road connectivity) to reach Rampur," she said.

Around 70-80 families live in the village, who are cut off from the basic facilities.

"The hardships made me stronger. I have seen a lot in life. When things get tough, I'd often feel like giving up. But I'd pull myself up each time. Now I know that I can make use of the platform I have achieved to make things better for others like me," Priyanka said.