Puttur girl secures All-India 2nd rank in NEET among persons with disabilities

Fighting against odds, a girl from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district got the second rank at the national level in NEET 2021 in Persons With Disabilities (PWD) category, the results of which were announced on November 1.

Sinchana Lakshmi, a second-year student at Vivekananda PU College in Puttur, scored 658 out 720 marks in the qualifying examination. Among all the 16 lakh-odd medical seat aspirants, she is in 2,856th position (All India General Category).

Ms. Lakshmi has been bright in academics, said her father Muralidhara Bhat, an agriculturist from Mundur in Puttur taluk. She stood second in the SSLC exams at the State level scoring 624 out of 625 marks. Her performance in JEE and KCET was also remarkable: 96.16 percentile in JEE; 530th rank in B.Sc. Agriculture, 974th rank in BNYS, 974th rank in veterinary and 1,582nd Rank in KCET engineering.

Her elder sister Sindhura Saraswathi got the first rank in electronics and communications stream in Bachelor of Engineering degree at Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), and had bagged six gold medals. She is working with TCS and would soon be flying to the U.S. to pursue a masters degree, Mr. Bhat said.

Ms. Lakshmi told The Hindu that special coaching had been arranged by her college (Vivekananda PU College). Though she did not maintain specific study hours, she was consistent in studies. Her ambition is to become a doctor and serve the needy. She hopes for a seat in All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.

Mr. Bhat said his second daughter underwent a series of surgeries when she was in class 5 till class 9 to correct a birth defect in the spine.

The management, principal and staff members of Vivekananda PU College congratulated Ms. Lakshmi for her performance.