Ten years ago, Venkatesh Hogibandi, was just a police constable. Now, he is the deputy superintendent of police. This kind of career progression is unusual in the department. But, what helped Mr. Hogibandi, hailing from a family of poor stone masons, is writing a series of examinations conducted by the State government, for which he underwent training provided by the Bidar district administration four years ago.
At least five others who attended the training with him have successfully cleared the examinations. For instance, Parvati Reddy, has been selected as assistant commissioner and Madiwalappa as a taluk panchayat executive officer. Others like Khaja Khalilulla, Balaji, Rajanikanth, Jagadeesh, and M. Mehrajuddin have been selected for other State services after clearing the Karnataka Public Service Commission exam.
The district administration organised an entrance test for over 700 young graduates in 2013. A whole batch of young IAS probationary officers came to Bidar to inspire the candidates. A month long training programme followed. Eleven best candidates were selected for a year-long residential coaching programme in New Delhi. Then Deputy Commissioner P.C. Jaffer helped the young men and women get training and accommodation in the national capital.
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A residential programme for 40 candidates was organised in Basava Kalyan for one-and-a-half months. When ever candidates passed the written examinations, they were exposed to mock personality tests. Senior IAS officers such as Amlan Aditya Biswas addressed the trainees and shared their experiences.
Hyderabad Karnataka regional development board financed the training. Leaders from the district like MLAs Mallikarjun Khuba and Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli supported the programme. Shaheen civil service academy in Bengaluru provided logistics support. Philanthropist Gurunath Kollur, Sri Shivakumar Swamy of Siddharoodh Mutt donated some money. Basava Kumar Patil of the Kalyan Karnataka trust was among the organisers.