Meet Laungi Bhuiyan a man from Gaya who digs out canal single handedly

Farmers have always been an asset to our country as they are not just the backbone of our economy but they are also the ones, who make an effort to feed the whole country, irrespective of all the situations and conditions that our country goes through. No doubt, how our farmers have been a blessing for our country. Today, in this story, we are going to talk about a person who comes from a similar background. 

Laungi Bhuiyan, a 70 year old farmer, belonging to the kothilawa village in lahthua area of Gaya, Bihar has carved out a 3 Km long canal to irrigate the dried fields in his village. Since the last 30 years, this unstoppable man has been digging this canal single handedly, without any help and financial aid from anyone else. During these times, when the rural population has been migrating to the cities in search of employment and livelihood, Laungi Bhuiyan, stayed back in the village not only to dig out this canal but also help his own people in order to get a good and dignified livelihood. Kothilawa village is surrounded by dense forests, and is originally marked as a refugee for the maoists. The region is around a distance of 80 km from the city of Gaya and the main source of livelihood for the people of this area is animal husbandry and farming, but due to the lack of water and irrigation facilities, most of the people used to migrate to the cities to earn livelihood. 

During the monsoons, the rain water flowed from the mountains into the river, which made Bhuiyan, thought of carving a canal and directing the flow of water to the fields for better irrigation and agricultural purposes. It took him an effort of long 30 years and a protest and disapproval from all his family members and local villagers who used to think that he has turned mad was doing a futile task which would lead him to nothing but a waste of his time and effort. But today, 3000 local villagers of his area are being benefited because of his efforts.

In one of his interviews Bhuiyan quotes “It took me 30 years to dig this canal which takes the water to a pond in this village. 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”

Bhuiya's efforts have not just been in the news but have also been praised a lot by eminent leaders like Anand Mahidra on Twitter. Mahindra wrote on twitter- Few years ago, we had come across Dashrath Manjhi's story, who had cut the mountains to pave a way for the people, Laungi Bhuiyan's story is another similar piece that demonstrates the power of the quote- where there is a will, there is a way!