Charkhi Dadri: Inspired by the miseries of animals and birds due to the scarcity of water, a 90-year-old man from Haryana's Dadri has created an artificial pond on the top of a mountain for birds and animals. Kalluram of Charkhi in Haryana has been relentlessly working for the last 50 years to dig the pond 50 metres deep in the middle of a mountain in Dadri so that the animals and birds could quench their thirst from this pond.
Apart from Kalluram, three generations of his are assisting him to realize his long cherished dream. Kalluram is now demanding that the government and the administration make this pond pucca and build an approach road to it. About the inspiration behind the project, Kalluram said that as a teenager, he used to come to the mountain to graze goats and cows and realized how animals and birds were literally dying due to scarcity of water.
The misery of the speechless creatures inspired Kalluram to take up the dream project and he set out with his hammer and chisel to create a pond on the mountain. The pond was completed in the year 2010 and ever since then, it is quenching the thirst of thousands of animals and birds every year. Atela Kalan village of Charkhi Dadri is situated in the hills of Aravalli.
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According to Kalluram, the ascent of the mountain starts as soon as it leaves the village of Atela Kalan. The pond can be reached after a climb of about one and a half kilometres. Even today, at the age of 90, Kalluram wakes up at 4 in the morning to reach the pond and keeps on lifting the stones around the pond throughout the day to make way for the birds.
Kalluram recalls that when he started digging the pond with a hammer and chisel, people deemed him mad and laughed at him. “It has been very difficult. I got taunts from people, and the family members were upset. But I had this strong desire to do something for the animals and birds,” he said. Kalluram's son Ved Prakash and grandson Rajesh also helped Kalluram in building the pond.
Whatever debris came out during the construction of the pond was used to build the approach road to reach the pond. District Deputy Commissioner Shyamlal Poonia and MP Dharambir Singh who inspected the pond appreciated the courage of Kalluram. MP Dharambir Singh also assured that the place will soon be developed as a tourist spot. District Deputy Commissioner said that every effort will be made to help them in further developing the place.
