Daily wager for 15 years, man cracks NEET to become a doctor

Man and a father of two, who worked as a daily wager for 15 years to financially support his family has cracked NEET to become a doctor.

Rayagada (Odisha): Krushnachandra Ataka, a 33-year-old labourer from Rayagada district defied hardships and limited access to education to achieve his dream of becoming a doctor. Juggling his roles as a manual worker, father and student, Krushnachandra belonging to the Kondh tribe has cracked the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and is all set to become a doctor.

Krushnachandra, a resident of Thuapadi village, under the Bissamkataka block of Rayagada district, returned to studies after a gap of 15 years only to become a doctor. He is all set to join Saheed Rendo Majhi Medical College and Hospital, Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district. In the last 15 years, Ataka worked as an agricultural labourer for 13 years and as a migrant labourer for two years.

Krushnachandra's parents owned just one acre of unproductive agricultural land to feed five children, of which he is the oldest. He passed his class 10 exams in 2006 securing 58 per cent. For his higher secondary classes, a non-government organisation came forward to take care of his college and boarding fees and he got enrolled in Khallikote Junior College in Berhampur.

As his parents were struggling to make ends meet, his studies became less of a priority, as he got admission to a B.Sc. Chemistry graduate degree programme but had to drop out due to less income of his family. He returned to his village so that he also could become an earning member of the family just like his younger brothers.

Krushnachandra said, "My three younger brothers had started working to financially support the family. One worked as a motor mechanic, one as a mason and one as an agricultural labourer. Even though I got admission to a B.Sc. Chemistry graduate degree programme I had to drop out from the course to become an earning member. I took up cultivation."

He further said, "I only got a daily wage of Rs 100 even after working hard in the fields. So I migrated to Kerala in 20212. There, I worked in a brick Kiln. Even there I was not paid enough to look after my family, so I shifted to a matchbox manufacturing unit in Kottayam. But there too I struggled for money." I returned to my village in 2014 and again started working as an agricultural labourer. In 2018, I got married to Mituala Ataka and we now have a daughter and a son. In 2021, I started preparing for the medical entrance examination for which, I joined a training course, he added.

Krushnachandra passed his medical examination in 2022, but due to lack of funds, he did not even go to counselling. In 2023, he cracked NEET again. He secured an all-India rank of 7,18,996 and a state rank of 3,902. This time he was determined to not let the opportunity slip again. For this, he approached a moneylender in his village to borrow the admission fee of Rs 37,950. To his surprise, the moneylender refused to charge an interest. He now hopes to serve the people in his village.