Vendor's son conquers polio to get in IIT-Roorkee

Kanpur: Among the fortunate ones who have got an opportunity to study in IITs is Anup Kumar Gupta of Dughara village, 40 kms away from Gorakhpur. But his case is different from others. Anup is a physically challenged (right leg affected with polio), his father is a roadside vendor, who manages to earn Rs 3,000 a month by selling vegetables.
Anup has a family of four.He had secured AIR 35 in person with disability (PWD) category in JEE Advanced. Semi-literate parents of Anup does not know what an IIT is. They just want that their son to become a respectable man in life and then help people like them who are poor and cannot afford education.
He was inspired for pursuing BTech by watching Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots.
On Saturday, Anup reached IIT-K and locked his seat preference of pursuing BTech in electrical engineering from IIT-Roorkee. But arranging fees of Rs 20,000 was never easy for Gupta family for which they took advances from the relatives.
The lad submitted fees and got his documents verified at IIT-K. He would soon join IIT-Roorkee for pursuing BTech. But how would he pay the remaining fees remains an unanswered question. His father Omprakash had no answer just tears in his eyes.
Anup who limbs while walking due to polio said, "I am good at electro-magnet portion of physics and this made me choose electrical engineering. I have fixed my seat in IIT-Roorkee."
Anup said that he got through JEE Advanced in his second attempt. He had secured 90.17% in his class X and 81.2% in his class XII. The boy said that a village youth inspired him to go for engineering.
Anup said that he studied for 14-15 hours each day while preparing for IIT.
"I want to become an IAS officer and once I achieve my aim, I will certainly help poor children," he added.
Anup's father Omprakash studied till class VII and mother Kiran Devi passed class V. They want their son become a big man. "We have taken loan from our relatives to pay fees," he said.