Chhattisgarh man gifts his dry village a pond after digging it up for 27 years

A man in Chhattisgarh created record of sort by digging up a pond for 27 years.

Raipur, August 28: Twenty seven years is not a joke. In 27 years, almost three decades, the face of the world could change drastically. In these years, a kid grows up into a man/woman and many more things can happen during the period.

Imagine if someone dedicates 27 years of his life in just digging up a pond. Astonishing, isn't it? What more can we say about Shyam Lal, a native of Saja Pahad village in Chhattisgarh's Koriya district, who spent 27 years of his life digging up the parched land of his village to find a pond out of it.

Finally, his long-drawn lonely battle to find water succeeded after 27 years. When Shyam first started his journey of digging up the pond he was just 15 years old.

Today, the man hailed as a "hero" by his village men and even local politicians and officials is 42. But Shyam has no qualms of losing so many precious years of his life just digging up a pond. Rather he is ecstatic that his firm belief to find water in a forest land nearby his dry village proved to be right.

As a teenager Shyam decided to undertake the task after he saw his village people badly struggling for water to quench their thirst and that of the animals. No government officials did anything about the matter.

So, one day, the tribal boy decided to take up a spade and dig for water in a nearby forest area. His initiative was not initially approved by his fellow villagers. They thought he has gone "crazy" to take up such a herculean task.

But, the boy was a determined one. Although it took 27 years, none the less Shyam succeeded in his one-man mission. The villager gave Saja Pahad a 15-feet deep pond, spread across one-acre of land, full of water.

Today, the villagers hail his as a hero, as he did the impossible task of digging up a huge pond for so many years.

"No one helped me in my work, neither the administration nor the villagers," a proud 42-year-old was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. When asked what prompted him to dig the pond for so many years, Shyam said he did it for the welfare of the people and the cattle of his village.

The villagers are indebted to the man. "The pond is now used by everyone and we are all thankful to him," Ramsaran Bargar (70), a village elderly told Hindustan Times.

Along with the praises showered by his fellow villagers, Shyam also managed to win the heart of the local politicians. Recently, MLA Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, who represents Mahendargarh constituency, under which Saja Pahad falls, visited the village and presented Shyam with Rs 10,000 for his noble endeavor.

The local administration has also promised to support Shyam.

"I came to know about Shyam recently. His effort for his village is commendable and I will go to his village to provide him all possible help," said district collector of Koriya, Narendra Duggal.

Saja Pahad, a remote village, lies near a hillock under Chirimiri. The village still does not have electricity or road connectivity. Moreover, for years now, the village has been suffering from water crisis.

This year, entire Chhattisgarh is facing a drought-like situation because of severe shortage of rainfall. However, with a new pond, the villagers of Saja Pahad are confident to tide over the crisis.

OneIndia News