"We should never be defeated and never give up." These were the first few words from 31-year-old Pranjal Patil, the country's first visually challenged woman IAS officer, as she assumed charge as Sub-Collector in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

Patil said she felt 'extremely glad and proud to be in Thiruvananthapuram' as she took over in Kerala's capital district in the presence of District Collector K Gopalakrishnan.

Hailing from Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra, Patil lost her vision at the age of six, but it did not deter the youngster from pursuing her civil services dream. She cracked the Union Public Services Examination on her first attempt with a rank of 773 in 2016.

She was refused a job in the Indian Railway Accounts Service because she was visually challenged. In her second attempt the very next year, she had drastically improved her ranking.

Patil had secured the 124th rank in the 2017 Civil services Examinations, and her subsequent appointment as Assistant Collector in Ernakulam in 2018 had grabbed headlines.

In Thiruvananthapuram, she said she spent her first day familiarising herself with the new environment. She said she expected much support from the public and the staff at the District Collectorate.

“We all will get that one big breakthrough provided we have the will," she said after signing the Report of Transfer of Charge to take over from Sam Cleetus, the Deputy Collector (Land Acquisition), who had been holding the charge of Sub-Collector.

Patil was greeted with bouquets and ‘laddoos’ at the Collectorate here. She was accompanied by Assistant Collector Anu Kumari and ushered to her office on the first floor. Later, she formally called on the District Collector.

Biju Prabhakar, Special Secretary, Social Justice, who was present, termed her assumption of office as an 'auspicious moment' for the district of Thiruvananthapuram.

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