Dashrath Manjhi

Dashrath Manjhi

Dashrath Manjhi (1934 – August 17, 2007) was born into a poor labourer family in Gahlour village near Gaya in Bihar, India. He is also known as Mountain Man. Manjhi's wife, Falguni Devi, died due to lack of medical treatment because the nearest town with a doctor was 70 kilometres (43 mi) away from their village in Bihar, India.

Manjhi did not want anyone else to suffer the same fate as his wife, 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 August 17, 2007.[8] He was given a state funeral by the Government of Bihar.