Visually Challenged student finally secures visa to Italy
Hubballi: Suhas Dharwad, who was denied permission by the Italian embassy, has now received the visa to study at a prestigious university in Italy. Responding to the TOI report dated Aug 18, Union minister Pralhad Joshi sought assistance from the minister of external affairs S Jaishankar. Now, the embassy has sent the visa to the student.

Suhas told TOI that he had received a call from Anuj Nirwal officer on special duty for Italy, Portugal, and San Marino at the ministry of external affairs (MEA), on Aug 21.

He suggested re-applying for the visa with a sufficient balance in his savings bank account. “We could consolidate Rs 17 lakh from our relatives and friends. Though it usually takes 60-90 days to process, my visa was processed in just 2 days with the assistance of the MEA. I applied for it on Thursday and received the hard copy on Saturday,” he added.
Thanking TOI for highlighting the issue, parents Roopa and Lingaraj Dharwad said that Union minister 
Pralhad Joshi called them to his residence on Aug 18 to seek the details. “He assured us of approaching MEA S Jaishankar. Joshi’s officials kept following up with the MEA.”

Joshi told TOI that he was convinced by Suhas’ approach. He has been admitted to the MS programme in Human- Computer Interaction (HCI) at the University of Trento, Italy. Based on the application score received, his tuition fee has been waived. Seeing his profile, we thought he would be an asset to the whole community of visually challenged individuals if he is helped to pursue his dream. Hence, we took up the issue seriously in association with S Jaishankar,” he explained.
Suhas is scheduled to fly to Trento, Italy on Sept 10.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hubballi/visually-challenged-student-secures-visa-to-study-in-italy/articleshow/112978017.cms