Seventeen-year-old Shivananda Sonavane has bagged a rank in the physically challenged category in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, but he still has another battle to surmount.
Shivananda spent the better part of Friday making trips to multiple offices in the Vidhana Soudha, seeking help for his education. The medical aspirant, who has bagged a seat in the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), is now hoping to get a seat in a “better college”.
Cannot use his right hand
The teenager, who had a polio attack when he was seven months old, cannot use his right hand for any task. A student of the Shree Guru Independent PU College of Science, Kalaburagi, Shivananda said that coming from a financially weak background, it was hard for him to mobilise the Rs. 35,000 fees (including hostel fees).
He alleged that a senior Minister, whom he approached for help with a handwritten letter, asked him to type out a letter and was unavailable later. Dejected, he returned to his home town in Kalaburagi.
“My father is a bus conductor and my mother a homemaker, and paying even a few thousand rupees is difficult for my family. But I want to become a doctor and help more people with disabilities, like me, in availing medical help,” he said. He said that as he cannot use the fingers on his right hand, he writes with his left hand.
