Saja Pahad, a small village in Chhattisgarh, India, has been dealing with severe water shortages for several decades. With only two wells available, locals were barely able to secure enough water to feed their cattle, let alone irrigate their crops. Villagers didn’t know what to do and the government ignored their plight but one teenager took matters into his own hands.
Shyam Lal was only 15 when he took it upon himself to solve his village’s water problem.
He identified a spot in a nearby forest and decided to dig a pond to collect rainfall that could then be used by the entire community.
Lal shared his idea with the rest of Saja Pahad but instead of volunteering to help, they just laughed at his crazy plan and called him a lunatic. But the young man didn’t let the people’s reaction get him down. Instead, he grabbed a spade and started digging the pond himself. He kept on digging for the next 27 years.
Now 42, Lal is considered a hero and a saviour by his community. That small hole he started digging nearly three decades ago is now a one-acre, 15-feetdeep pond filled with precious water that serves the entire village.
“No one helped me in my work, neither the administration nor the villagers,” he proudly told the Hindustan Times.
The story of Lal’s determination recently went viral in India and prompted authorities in Mahendragarh District to finally acknowledge his achievement. A member of the regional legislative assembly recently visited Saja Pahad and offered him $156 for his contribution to the village.
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