DASHRATH MANJHI, A MAN WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN!

It was 1960. Landless labourers, the Musahars, lived amid rocky terrain in the remote Atri block of Gaya, Bihar in northern India. In the hamlet of Gehlour, they were regarded the lowest of the low in a caste-ridden society, and denied the basics: water supply, electricity, a school and a medical centre. A 300-feet high mountain loomed between them and civilisation. ... read more on social.yourstory.com

It was 1960. Landless labourers, the Musahars, lived amid rocky terrain in the remote Atri block of Gaya, Bihar in northern India. In the hamlet of Gehlour, they were regarded the lowest of the low in a caste-ridden society, and denied the basics: water supply, electricity, a school and a medical centre. A 300-feet high mountain loomed between them and civilisation. ... read more on social.yourstory.com

It was 1960. Landless labourers, the Musahars, lived amid rocky terrain in the remote Atri block of Gaya, Bihar in northern India. In the hamlet of Gehlour, they were regarded the lowest of the low in a caste-ridden society, and denied the basics: water supply, electricity, a school and a medical centre. A 300-feet high mountain loomed between them and civilisation. ... read more on social.yourstory.com

It was 1960. Landless labourers, the Musahars, lived amid rocky terrain in the remote Atri block of Gaya, Bihar in northern India. In the hamlet of Gehlour, they were regarded the lowest of the low in a caste-ridden society, and denied the basics: water supply, electricity, a school and a medical centre. A 300-feet high mountain loomed between them and civilisation. ... read more on social.yourstory.com

It was 1960. Landless labourers, the Musahars, lived amid rocky terrain in the remote Atri block of Gaya, Bihar in northern India. In the hamlet of Gehlour, they were regarded the lowest of the low in a caste-ridden society, and denied the basics: water supply, electricity, a school and a medical centre. A 300-feet high mountain loomed between them and civilisation. ... read more on social.yourstory.c

It was 1960. Landless labourers, the Musahars, lived amid rocky terrain in the remote Atri block of Gaya, Bihar in northern India. In the hamlet of Gehlour, they were regarded the lowest of the low in a caste-ridden society, and denied the basics: water supply, electricity, a school and a medical centre. A 300-feet high mountain loomed between them and civilisation. ... read more on social.yourstory.com

Dashrath Manjhi was born in 1934, to a poor labourer family of Gahlour village near Gaya, Bihar. In 1967, Dashrath Majhi's wife, Falguni Devi was injured and needed immediate medical attention. But unfortunately, the nearest town with a doctor was located 70 km away, as he had to travel around the Gehlour mountain hills; and as a result, his wife died due to lack of timely medical treatment.

A 300-meter tall mountain that was between thier village and civilization in Wazirganj

Dashrath was taken aback with the loss of his wife in this way. He realized that his village was situated in the lap of rocky hills and because of this the villagers would often face lot of trouble crossing the small distance between Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya town. Dashrath Manjhi did not want anyone else to suffer the fate of his wife, so the old man started something no one could think of.

He knew his voice will not create any reaction in the deaf ear of the government; therefore, Dashrath chose to accomplish this Herculean task alone. He sold his goats to purchase chisel, rope and a hammer. People would call him mad and eccentric spirited with no idea of his plans,

so he carved a path 360-foot-long (110 m) through-cut , 25-foot-deep (7.6 m) in places and 30-foot- wide (9.1 m) to form a road through a mountain in the Gehlour hills, working day and night for 22 years from 1960 to 1982.

 His feat reduced the distance between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of the Gaya district from 55 km to 15 km, bringing him national acclaim. He died on 17 August 2007.He was given a state funeral by the Government of Bihar!