COIMBATORE: Swati, who along with her mother Thangaponnu, arrived in Chennai on Saturday to attend the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) counselling session following a mix-up, was helped by a passer-by to reach Coimbatore where her actual counselling session was scheduled.
Following the intervention of the passer-by who offered financial help and air travel fare to the duo, the name and registration number of Swati were then sent to C R Ananda Kumar, TNAU registrar, and he was informed about the mix-up. The mother and daughter later boarded a flight from Chennai which reached Coimbatore by 11.25 am. Arrangements were made to pick them up at the Coimbatore airport by a friend of the person who had helped them and they reached the TNAU campus at 12.30 pm. Swati was able to attend the counselling session on time, and chose BSc in Biotechnology.
Ananda Kumar told Express that he got a text message explaining the situation along with the name and registration number of Swati.
“I immediately forwarded that message to Mahimai Raja, dean (admissions), and preparations were made to ensure that the girl attended the counselling. Had they not reached the campus on time, it would have been difficult for her to get admission,” he said.
Thangaponnu and Swati had arrived in Chennai as directed by their friend who mistook “Anna Arangam” for “Anna University”. “The text alert sent by the TNAU did not mention the name of the city,” they claimed.
Thangaponnu, who raised and educated Swati by rearing cattle, told Express that they were extremely grateful to the person who helped them during the crisis. The identity of the person was, however, not established.
Swati had scored 1,017 marks out of 1,200 in her Higher Secondary Examination with a cut-off mark of 189.
She had also applied in other colleges for the MBBS and BSc courses. However, she got the counselling call only from the TNAU.