Krushnachandra Ataka, a 33-year-old agricultural labourer from the Kondh tribe, is in an unusual hurry, inspecting any sign of disease in maturing paddy plants across a sprawling field in Odisha’s Thuapadi village, under Bissamkataka block of Rayagada district. The urgency is not only to ensure a good yield, but also to write a new chapter in his life.
Mr. Ataka, who returned to studies after a gap of 15 years (13 years as an agricultural labourer and two as a migrant labourer), has cracked the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges, and is all set to join Saheed Rendo Majhi Medical College and Hospital, Bhawanipatna, in Kalahandi district in a week’s time.
Born to parents who have only one acre of unproductive agricultural land to feed five children of which he is the oldest, he passed his Class X exams securing 58% in 2006.
