Meerut: Young IRS officer uses social media to reach out to hundreds of students in times of Covid

MEERUT: Shashank Shekhar Singh, 29, an

Indian Revenue Service

(IRS) officer posted as assistant commissioner for Meerut-Ghaziabad region in Uttar Pradesh, has reached out to 700

students

all across the country since April 23 and provided them with study materials, mainly books, for competitive examinations.

"That was the time of Covid peak and I realised a lot of people were helping those in need via

social media

. It inspired me to do something for the students, a neglected lot. I began sending out messages via Twitter and Facebook and soon received hundreds of requests," Singh told TOI.

The young officer, who is now joined by his friends and batchmates, is ready to take up the cause of those financially affected by the pandemic. He started reaching out two months ago.

One of the beneficiaries, Vivek Kumar, from Koderma district in Jharkhand, told TOI, "My entire family was down with the virus and my father's practice as a homeopath suffered. I am preparing for civil services and desperately needed a book on Indian polity. I came to know of Shashank sir through a friend and sent him a request. The book arrived within a week."

Another student from

Prayagraj

, Sachin Tiwari, is all praise for Singh.

"My father is a security guard. I want to crack the competitive exam. Books are costly, though. I came to know of his work through social media and I made him a request. He sent me the books."

"It was not possible for me to be physically present in far-off places. So, a network of colleagues and friends helped me out in this task to reach out to students in need. During peak days we were able to send medicines and food as well," Singh said of the role of his colleagues and friends.

At present there are around a dozen active members in the group. Most of them are his batchmates.

Speaking to TOI, one such associate Kumar Sambhav, an IRS officer posted in Kolkata, said, "I cater to the needs of students belonging to West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand. It feels good to work for the students' cause. Now, we are planning to develop an app to take this service to the next level."

Messages of gratitude are also pouring in on Singh's Twitter handle @Shashank_s3.

One Aditya Wakhare wrote, "Sir I got the book. Thanks for the support. This gift will be of great help to me in cracking UPSC. Keep helping, keep supporting like an elder brother."

While another beneficiary NJ Kennedy messaged, "Sir, received the book. Thank you so much for the kind assistance to aspirants. Your kind gesture will never be forgotten."


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