Man in Gaya carves out 3-km-long canal to irrigate parched fields

Gaya (Bihar) [India], September 13 : A man has carved out a three-kilometre-long canal to take rainwater coming down from nearby hills to fields of his village, Kothilawa in Lahthua area of Gaya.
"It took me 30 years to dig this canal which takes the water to a pond in the village," said Laungi Bhuiyan who has dug out the canal single-handedly in Gaya.
"For the last 30 years, I would go to the nearby jungle to tend my cattle and dig out the canal. No one joined me in this endeavour... Villagers are going to cities to earn a livelihood but I decided to stay back," he added.
Kothilwa village is surrounded by dense forest and mountains, about 80 km away from Gaya district headquarters. This village is marked as a refuge for Maoists.
The main means of livelihood for the people here are farming and animal husbandry.
During the rainy season, the water falling from the mountains used to flow into the river which used to bother Bhuiyan following which he thought of carving out a canal.
He worked hard in order to save water coming from the mountains and utilise it.
"He has been carving out the canal for the last 30 years that too single-handedly. This will benefit a large number of animals and to irrigate the fields as well. He is not doing it for his own benefit but for the entire area," said Patti Manjhi, a local.
Ram Vilas Singh, a teacher who resides here praised Bhuiyan for benefiting the villagers and their fields.
"A lot of people will benefit here. People are now getting to know him because of his work," he added.