M A I N   N E W S

Monday Special
A Padma for a mountainous task?
He split open a hill to make a road
Ambarish Dutta
Tribune News Service

Patna, December 10
Where there is a will, not even a mountain can stand in the way. Dasharath Manjhi of Gaya has proved this beyond words. By accomplishing this feat, septuagenarian Dasharath Manjhi has become the role model for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who himself is on a mission to connect every nook and corner of the state with “pucca roads”.

Mr Manjhi’s claim to fame has been the Herculean task of single-handedly carving a 36-foot-long, 25-foot high and 30-foot wide passage by cutting through a mountain near Gehlore village in Gaya district, about 100 km from here. The hill stands between the Attari and Wazirgunj blocks in Gaya.

The love for his wife inspired this man to cut through the mountain. He could not take his ailing wife in time to the nearest hospital, which was six hours away, as the route skirted around the mountain.

So after she passed away, Mr Manjhi attacked the mountain with primitive tools like chisel and hammer to split open a road, which now enables his fellow villagers to reach the same hospital in just an hour. Manjhi’s pass through the mountain has reduced the distance between the Atri and Wazirganj sub-divisions of Gaya district from 50 km to 10 km.

He began this extraordinary task in 1967 and finished the epic project in 1988.

Since then, he has met the top brass of the state administration to fulfil his desire to construct a proper, tarred road. But till date, his dream remained unfulfilled.

Mr Manjhi also met the then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the 1990s. He had promised Mr Manjhi to get the road built but could not to fulfil it.

After the change of guard in Bihar, Mr Manjhi took the trouble to travel down to Patna recently to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

When Mr Manjhi met Mr Kumar at his Janata Darbar, the latter got up and offered his chair to him in respect.

Mr Kumar has promised to build a road through the mountain before he completes his present stint in office by 2010.

The state government has recommended Mr Manjhi’s name to the President for the prestigious Padma award in the social service sector.