PATNA: Monetary constraints threatened to shatter the dream of four poor boys who cracked IIT-JEE with help from maths wizard Anand Kumar of Bihar’s Super-30 fame. Thanks to good Samaritans spread across the country and abroad, the Bihar boys are set to smile all the way to IITs.

Super-30, an initiative under which 333 poor children have been successfully coached to crack the prestigious JEE during the last 13 years, charges Rs 50 from every aspirant who writes its entrance test. Sailing through this test is a must for becoming one of the 30 students who are coached free by Anand every year. “But Dhananjay Kumar of Samastipur, Sujeet Kumar of Madhepura , Prempal Kumar of Nalanda and Shrawan Kumar of Rohtas districts did not have even this amount in their pockets when they approached us in Patna last year,” Anand recalled.

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Dhananjay’s father would work in a Surat mill, but returned to his native village unemployed after he fell ill. Sujeet’s father is a coolie while Prempal’s is a daily wage worker. Shrawan’s father is a farmworker. They all belong to OBC and like every general category and OBC candidate, they were required to deposit Rs 45,000 each for making it to counseling sessions ahead of their admission to IITs.

Their tragic story made it to social media following which donors from across the country and abroad have sent an estimated Rs 5 lakh to Anand’s bank account. “At least 500 people approached us through , and the money started flowing in on Friday. Within two hours, we had to announce we need no more,” Anand said.

Though the four students are Hindus from Bihar, the donors included non-Biharis and Muslims. A good number of these donors are based in the US and Chennai and Bangalore. “The highest donation was of Rs 1.25 lakh and the lowest Rs 500,” Anand said and added the surplus money is being used to buy shoes, clothes and books for the four students. The Super-30 has planned to upload the details of the collection and expenditure to its website soon.

Anand is overwhelmed. “I doff my hat to our countrymen. They are there to help you if you are trying to make a change for the good of the nation,” the mathematician said.

Sujeet had his voice choked when this reporter reached him over phone. “The day I came to know that I had to arrange Rs 45,000, I thought all my hard work would go futile,” he said and added thanks to good Samaritans, he would be the first person from Puraini Bazaar village, 50km from Madhepura town, to study in an IIT. Dhananjay, who has got electrical branch in IIT-Kharagpur, is also on cloud nine. The eldest among six siblings, he told this paper, “Even a thought about returning the money to the donors will trivialize their greatness. I will rather return the favour by helping other poor students after I start earning.”

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