Unassisted, Chhattisgarh man digs 15ft deep pond after 27 yrs of toil
For years, Saja Pahad village in Chhattisgarh’s Koriya district faced water shortage. Villagers found it difficult to quench the thirst of their cattle, but they did not know what to do. And the government, too, did nothing.
Then one day 15-year-old Shyam Lal decided to take his spade and dig a pond. Fellow villagers laughed at him. But the tribal teenager was determined.
Lal identified a spot in the forest in and kept digging — for 27 years, according to villagers.
The result is nothing less than that of Bihar’s mountain man, Dashrath Manjhi — a one-acre 15-feet deep pond.
“No one helped me in my work, neither the administration nor the villagers,” the 42-year-old beams proudly, adding that he did it for the welfare of the people and the cattle of his village.
Ramsaran Bargar (70), a local who witnessed Shyam toil through the years, says, “The pond is now used by everyone and we are all thankful to him.”
Sources said Saja Pahad, which lies near a hillock under Chirimiri, still does not have electricity or proper road connectivity.
On Friday, MLA Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, who represents Mahendargarh constituency, under which Saja Pahad falls, visited the village and presented Shyam with ₹10,000 for his efforts.
District collector of Koriya, Narendra Duggal has also promised his support to Shyam.