Former White House political staffer Huma Abiden interacts with Civil Services aspirants
Faizal and Shabana Foundation's free Civil Services Academy formally launched
Former White House political staffer Huma Abedin who is also a long-time aide of Hillary Clinton, interacted with about 100 Civil Services aspirants of the maiden batch of a new free Civil Services Academy being set up by the Faizal and Shabana Foundation.
The foundation is setting up the academy in association with Perinthalmanna-based KREA (Knowledge, Resources, Empowerment, Activity). The academy was formally launched at the Tulah International Wellness Centre at Chelembra near Calicut University on Saturday.
During her interaction with the aspirants, Huma spoke about the significant role each among them had to play in nation building and how the services will help them make use of their individual qualities and personalities for the nation building.
Adding that people in civil services should be able to accept people from all sections, Huma said personnel in civil services had a great role to play in strengthening the democratic and secular values of the country.
Speaking about her personal experiences at the White House, she told aspirant that she joined White House at the age of 19. She added none at the White House dissuaded or prevented her when she started offering daily prayers and observing the Ramzan fasting. She said her colleagues respected her personality, and she advised the youngsters not to surrender their individualities in front of anyone.
Najeeb Kanthapuram, MLA, who heads KREA as part of his educational initiative in Perinthalmanna constituency, presided over the function. Faizal and Shabana Foundation heads Faizal Kottikollon and Shabana Faizal, industrialists M.V. Shreyams Kumar, P.K. Ahamed, and foundation director Joseph Sebastian spoke.
IAS officers Aboobacker Siddik and Shahid Thiruvallur, this year’s civil services winners Shahin Jithu and K. Sangeet also addressed the students.
Faizal and Shabana Foundation said the academy will cater to the needs of the seven districts of Northern Kerala from where 100 Civil Service aspirants are being selected.
The process of selection includes a written test and an interview. The centre will provide free coaching for the aspirants and will be a state of the art centre with all facilities for the aspiring young girls and boys. The project is implemented along with Najeeb Kanthapuram, MLA of Perinthalmanna who has set up KREA.
Faizal and Shabana Foundation is famous for its intervention in revamping Government Schools, a model that is being replicated across 966 schools. Continuing with the same approach of providing equitable and quality learning facilities for those from hard to reach segments, this Civil Services Academy will propel the youngsters to dream big and facilitate to realizing their dreams.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms lash parts of Uttarakhand; all districts put on high alert
Dehradun (PTI): Heavy rain and hailstorms accompanied by strong winds lashed several districts of Uttarakhand on Sunday morning, prompting the state administration to put all district authorities on high alert.
The sudden change in weather caused uprooted trees to block roads and disrupted power supply at various locations.
Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman chaired a review meeting with district officials to assess the situation.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rain and thunderstorms at most places across all districts for Monday and Tuesday. Snowfall is expected in regions situated at altitudes of 4,000 metres and above.
An 'orange alert' remains in place for Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar. These districts are likely to witness isolated heavy rain, hailstorms, and intense to very intense spells of rain accompanied by gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph, the IMD said.
The weather office predicted that maximum temperatures across the state are likely to fall by 3-5 degrees Celsius over the next three to four days. During the past 24 hours, maximum temperatures remained "markedly below normal" in the plains and ranged from "markedly" to "appreciably" below normal in the hilly regions.
Dehradun experienced dark, overcast skies early Sunday, creating night-like conditions during morning hours. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 34.7 degrees Celsius, 5.3 degrees Celsius below the seasonal average.
For the state capital, the forecast predicts a partly to generally cloudy sky with a high of 31 degrees Celsius and a low of 19 degrees Celsius.
Significant rainfall was recorded across the state after 8.30 am on Sunday, with Jollygrant receiving 21.6 mm and Mohakampur recording 19.8 mm. Other areas, including Mukteshwar (15.0 mm), Mussoorie (13.4 mm), and Pithoragarh (8.5 mm), also saw measurable precipitation.
Secretary Suman directed officials to clear blocked roads on priority to ensure public convenience. Specific instructions were issued regarding the Char Dham Yatra, ordering that helicopter services must operate strictly according to weather conditions to ensure pilgrims' safety.
Isolated places in the remaining hilly districts are also expected to experience thunderstorms with lightning and intense rain spells.
