MP man digs well at home in 15 days to ease wife's water woes

Pained to see his wife fetchingwater daily from a hand-pump located half-a-km away from theirhome at Guna in Madhya Pradesh, a poor labourer has dug a wellin his own house in a fortnight to ease her woes.

The district administration has lauded the man'sgesture towards his wife and decided to extend benefits ofsome government schemes to him for the betterment of his life.

Bharat Singh (46), a resident of Bhanpur Bawa villageunder Chanchoda tehsil, had been concerned about his wifehaving to travel all the way to the hand-pump to fetch waterfor the daily needs of the family, comprising four members.

One day, after being unable to get water due to afault in the machine, his wife returned home sad andcomplained to him about it.

Singh later told his wife that he will dig a well forher in the house itself, but she laughed at the idea, thelabourer told PTI on Wednesday.

He then took it up as a challenge and to everyone'ssurprise, dug a 31-feet-deep and 6-feet-wide well in just 15days about two months back, Singh said.

The well not only provides enough water for the dailyneeds of his family, which includes his aged mother, but alsohelps in irrigating their small tract of land where the familygrows crops for their requirements, he said.

Singh, who lives in a hut, said though he belongs tothe Other Backward Classes and BPL (below poverty line)category, he had been unable to get a ration card for hisfamily despite several efforts.

Guna Collector Kumar Purshottam appreciated Singh'sgesture and his caring nature towards his wife.

He has directed officials of the zilla panchayat toprovide benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna and variousother government schemes to him for the betterment of hislife, a panchayat official said.