Fed up of govt apathy, Jharkhand tribals cut through hill to build path

After repeated requests for a road to their public representatives fell on deaf ears, a few tribal villages along the border of Dhanbad and Giridih districts in Jharkhand took matters into their own hands, as they carved out a two-kilometre-long path by cutting through a hill.

Dhanbad (Jharkhand): In an inspirational tale amid the lockdown, tribals in a remote region of Jharkhand achieved the unthinkable, as they cut through a hill to carve out a two-kilometre-long path.

The tribal community living along the Dhanbad-Giridih border had to face a lot of problems, owing to the lack of a proper road. The residents of Gangapur village in Giridih district had to take the long 20-kilometre-long route if they had to get to neighbouring Bastikulhi in Dhanbad district.

Due to absence of a road in the area, the biggest problem was that of healthcare. Patients, especially pregnant women, had to be carried on a wooden cot through the mountainous terrain to the hospital. Even children had to make an arduous journey to reach school.

The villagers said they appealed to their public representatives for years, but to no avail, as nobody paid heed to their needs. Fed up with the government's apathy, the villagers took matters into their own hands. Around 100 people from the adjoining villages came together to build the path.

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The villagers finally succeeded in achieving the unthinkable, as they successfully cut through the hill, carving out a two-kilometre-long path in the process. Thanks to the path, the 20-kilometre-long distance has been now reduced to just two kilometres.

Villagers said they were inspired by the act of Dashrath Majhi, who had similarly cut through a mountain single handedly.

What makes the feat even greater is the fact that women too took an active part in the work, and all the villagers followed all lockdown norms while building the path. Proud of their achievement, the villagers have now appealed to the government to construct a metalled road on the path carved out by them.

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