Mountain Man's village disappointed with govt for non-fulfillment of promises

The people of Gehlaur, a village in Bihar known for its 'Mountain Man' Dashrath Manjhi feel neglected and cheated as they claim that the state government hasn't fulfilled a single promise made to them in the past.

The residents of this remote village are unhappy with the state government and also annoyed with the bureaucrats for their attitude. They say the government has fooled them in the name of 'Manjhi.'

The village, where memorials are being built to honour Manjhi, lacks in basic amenities including education, health, irrigation, and other such facilities. Many politicians and filmmakers have failed to fulfill the promise of development made to the members of Manjhi's family and the village.

Bhagirath Manjhi, son of Dashrath Manjhi, told ANI, "The water crisis still persists in the village. The toilets made by the government are all locked. When I asked the district magistrate to open the locks, he questioned me as to who would clean the toilets after their use." "Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had approved to build my house but in vain. The movie made on my father's life in 2015 was a great hit and I was given Rs 1 lakh by the filmmaker but I never received 2 per cent profit promised by him," he said.

One of the residents of the village, Kanchan Kumar said: "Dashrath Manjhi is a big name in the country. Ketan Mehta, the director of the movie, promised to give 2 per cent of the profit for the development of the village but he has not fulfilled his promise yet." "Dashrath Manjhi had struggled with undeterred will through his entire life to resolve the water crisis problem. Unfortunately, his people are still facing the water crisis. There are hospitals and toilets named after Manjhi but are locked and the politicians only visit during the elections and no one comes to see us thereafter," he said.

Manjhi was born in a Dalit family. He had carved a path 110 m long, 9.1 m wide and 7.6 m deep through a hillock using chisel and hammer. He breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi on August 17, 2007.

The Government of Bihar gave him a state funeral, proposed his name for the Padma Shri award in 2006 in the social service sector and released a stamp by the India Post in the 'Personalities of Bihar' series on December 26, 2016.

(With inputs from agencies.)