Siddipet girl, HORTICET 3rd ranker, waits for help to continue studies

Sravanthi, the second of three daughters of sheep rearer Swamy and beedi roller Nagamani, is now finding that the challenge of poverty is not yet ready to let her go.

Siddipet: For 17-year-old Gollachinnolla Sravanthi, from Siddipet district, scoring high in all the crucial exams has been a habit, despite poverty pulling her back right from childhood. From Class 10 to the diploma college, she has been on top of her studies and continued in the same vein for the Horticulture Common Entrance Test (HORTICET-2022) too, securing the third rank in the State.

However, Sravanthi, the second of three daughters of sheep rearer Swamy and beedi roller Nagamani, is now finding that the challenge of poverty is not yet ready to let her go. The rank winner now stands the danger of not being able to confirm her admission, unless she manages to mop up Rs.50,000 in another two days. The resident of Konaipally in Doulthabad Mandal comes from a family that lives in a tiny house and with no land of its own at all.

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Swamy, who has been rearing sheep while Nagamani rolls beedis, managed to somehow pay the school fee so far for the three daughters, all of whom have been performing against odds to score high marks in all their classes. But once the time for higher education came, the couple is finding it tough to make ends meet.

The eldest daughter Kalyani had completed her diploma in agriculture in 2020, but could not continue her studies due to lack of financial support. Kalyani is now waiting for the government to issue notifications for agriculture extension officers, hoping to land a job and earn a living. Sravanthi, who completed her diploma in horticulture from the Horticulture Diploma College in Adilabad, had come out tops there too, scoring a 9.3 GPA. She had got a GPA of 10 in Class 10 as well.

However, now, after securing the State third rank in HORTICET, the results of which were announced in late November, she is finding the way forward really tough. While she will have to pay around Rs.1 lakh every year for four years, the first challenge is to pay Rs.50,000 to confirm her admission as the counseling is scheduled for December 5. Teacher and social activist Puli Raju has been trying to help her by urging philanthropists to support Sravanthi. But the family is still waiting.