Odisha tribal man digs 3-km canal through mountain
The muddy stream of water that courses through the pebble and boulderfilled stretch of Gonasika mountain for three kilometres before reaching Talabaitarani village could only have been a pipe dream for people till 2013. But one man’s obsession and determination to get water to his farmlands proved that nothing is insurmountable.
Like Dasrath Majhi who moved mountains to build a road in Jharkhand, 75-year-old tribal man Daitari Nayak in Odisha’s Keonjhar district carved a 3km canal through a mountain, helping irrigate 100 acres of land in his village.
Nayak, a 75-year-old farmer of Talabaitarani village in Banspal block of Kenojhar district, started digging through the Gonasika mountains in 2010 as erratic rains would repeatedly fail his crops. The only way he could get water to his barren lands was from a nearby stream from the mountains.
Armed with a hoe and a crowbar, Nayak started digging through the roads while villagers scoffed at his effort. But an undeterred Nayak carried on for a few months till he was joined by his four brothers. The villagers joined in only after the canal built by Nayak and his brothers with pebbles, mud and rocks neared their village.
The canal was finally completed in 2013 and has helped irrigate over 100 acres of land in Talabaitarani village for the last five years. The villagers now grow paddy, maize and mustard as well as some vegetables.
Keonjhar district collector Ashish Thakre described Nayak’s exploits as tremendous. “At his age he has shown determination and grit. The district administration would surely help Nayak and villagers to make the structure a concrete one. We are also planning a permanent check dam,” he said.
The district administration is also planning to felicitate Nayak for his efforts in bringing water to the village farms. Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik said chief minister Naveen Patnaik should learn from Nayak and address irrigation problems in State.
Earlier this year, another tribal in Kandhamal district came into prominence for building an 8km road through the mountains so that his three sons could travel to a nearby school. Jalandhar Nayak, 45, hammered his way through a mountain in Kandhamal for two years as his sons found it tough to cross hillocks and reach school.
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