Kendrapada: Son of a daily-wager, Somya Ranjan Sahoo (19) of Kendrapada district, who was struggling to secure admission to the prestigious SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack due to a shortage of funds, has now renewed confidence to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. Thanks to the financial assistance that began pouring in since Saturday, when The Times of Indiahad highlighted his plight in a report, “Daily-wager’s son secures SCB seat, faces fee hurdle”, drawing attention to the financial difficulties faced by the meritorious student.Somya, a resident of Sahabajpur village under Bijayanagar gram panchayat in Mahakalapada block, scored 574 marks in NEET (UG) and secured an All-India Rank of 21,051. Somya needed around Rs 40,000 for counselling and admission, with the deadline on Aug 31. After learning about his situation, around five people came forward on Saturday and contributed a total of around Rs 55,000 to help him meet the immediate requirement.Several individuals and organisations have also offered financial assistance to support Somya throughout his medical education. However, he has politely declined further immediate help, saying that the Rs 55,000 received on Saturday is sufficient for now. He said he may require assistance in the future, as the cost of completing his four-and-a-half-year medical course could be around Rs 2 lakh. “My mobile phone started ringing from early on Saturday morning. The callers said they had read the report in TOI about my inability to arrange the admission fee. I was speechless. Now, I will be able to take admission to SCB Medical College, thanks to the help extended by these altruists,” Somya said.One of the donors travelled from Bhubaneswar to Sahabajpur village on Saturday to hand over the financial assistance to Somya. He also felicitated the young NEET achiever in the presence of his mother. “All my prayers were answered. His humble background did not stop him from achieving his goal. He overcame several obstacles and secured a rank in the NEET. Now he will get admission to the SCB Medical College, Cuttack. His hard work has finally borne fruit,” said Sanjukta, Somya’s mother.