Jaipur: Until a few years ago, Pola Ram believed becoming a doctor was an impossible dream. Growing up in a single-room mud house in Sanjata village of Barmer district, the son of MGNREGA labourers had to give up science after Class X because his family could not afford the expenses.On Friday, the 20-year-old scored 657 marks in NEET, securing an All India Rank (AIR) of 1,041 and an OBC category rank of 321, making him eligible for admission to premier medical institutes such as Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Maulana Azad Medical College and AIIMS-Jodhpur.The celebrations, however, have been overshadowed by fresh financial worries. The family is struggling to arrange money for his travel to Delhi and basic items needed to begin medical college.“My brother has promised to take a month’s salary in advance so I can buy shoes, clothes, a bag, stationery and travel to Delhi,” Pola Ram said. He is set to become the first doctor from Sanjata gram panchayat.His father, Ramaram, and late mother, Pero Devi, worked as MGNREGA labourers and construction workers to support the family. Their financial condition worsened after his mother died in 2021, while Ramaram’s illness added to the hardship.The family lives in a mud house with a bamboo-and-thatch roof in a remote village surrounded by sand dunes. Every summer, strong desert winds fill the house with sand overnight, while water has to be fetched from a beri located 2-3 km away. The village still lacks proper road connectivity.“There were days when we had nothing to eat because MGNREGA work was available only for a few days. We grew up without a fan even when temperatures crossed 50C,” he said.His elder brother dropped out of school to support the family and now works as a waiter in Chennai.Pola Ram’s fortunes changed when he was selected by Fifty Villagers, a volunteer initiative run by doctors at Barmer district hospital, which provided him with two years of free residential coaching, accommodation and meals.Despite his success, the family may have to postpone his younger sister’s marriage to fund his medical education.“I want to come back and serve the desert,” Pola Ram said. “People in these remote villages deserve quality healthcare. I don’t want anyone from my village to suffer because there is no doctor nearby.”
