Meet the 'canal man' of Bihar who dug a 5 km waterway in 22 years

Laungi Bhuiyan, hailing from Kothilwa village located on the border of Imamganj and Bankebazar block, Gaya, had started excavating the canal in 1998 after he realised that the farmers could yield only Rabi crops due to unavailability of water, resulting in migration of youth from the village.

Gaya (Bihar):Dashrath Manjhi, or the ‘Mountain Man’, who had carved a path 110 m long, 9.1 m wide and 7.6 m deep through a hillock using chisel and hammer after his pregnant wife left for heavenly abode due to lack of transport facilities, a similar story has emerged from Bihar's Imamganj, where a man carved a five-kilometre-long canal to render water for the entire village.

Laungi Bhuiyan, hailing from Kothilwa village located on the border of Imamganj and Bankebazar block, Gaya, had started excavating the canal in 1998 after he realised that the farmers could yield only Rabi crops due to unavailability of water, resulting in migration of youth from the village.

Meet the 'canal man of Bihar' who digs 5 km waterway in 22 years

"I used to visit the forest area with my goats in order to collect grass for them. I came to know that my villagers had been facing a huge crisis of water. As a result, the roots of the poverty deepened in our village. I was determined to dig a canal without taking the help of any villager," said 60-year-old Bhuiyan to ETV Bharat.

He further said that the villagers considered him a mad man when he started working on the project and suggested to drop the idea as it was not 'feasible'.

Laungi Bhuiyan at his house

"Several people from my village had suggested me to drop the idea as they considered the plan an 'impossible task'. Without giving a reply to anyone, I continued my work and finally completed the task in 2020," added Bhuiyan with a smile.

Now, the Kothilwa village, which accommodates more than 3,000 farmers is availing water from the canal. The farmers could not stop themselves from appreciating the laborious man for his extraordinary work.

"Earlier, we used to cultivate only Rabi crops due to lack of water. Now, as the water reaches our village, we can grow Kharif crop as well," said a villager, adding that Bhuiyan has been facing financial crisis and appealed the government to help him for his noble work.

House of Laungi Bhuiyan

Despite facing financial crisis, Bhuiyan, who lives in a temporary house with his three children and wife, has not demanded any house or any award from the government. Rather, he asserted that the Assembly elections in Bihar are due in October-November and the government must focus on developmental projects like construction of roads and hospitals as the coronavirus pandemic has hit the state badly.