Laungi Bhuiya, 71, also known as the Canal Man, is single-handedly digging a second canal of 5 km so that rainwater cascading down the Bangetha hills, can be diverted to the fields for farming. Mr. Bhuiya, who lives in Kothilwa village, 80 km away from the Gaya district headquarters, began the process three years ago, having carved out 3.5 km so far. He hopes to complete another 1.5 km in the next year-and-a-half, using nothing more than an axe and spade. The canal is 5 feet wide and 3 feet deep.
The first canal he constructed was finished in October 2020, and took him 30 years to cut through 3 km of stone. “It helped the villagers of only three village. However, this one will provide water to another five. About 10,000 to 12,000 people will benefit from it,” Mr. Bhuiya said.
Impressed by his work, Anand Mahindra, Chairperson of the Mahindra group, had gifted him a tractor after he had completed the first canal. This is now Mr. Bhuiya’s only source of income.
Every morning Mr. Bhuiya, who owns less than half an acre of land, rises, and leaving his mud-and-straw home, walks about 2 km to his work spot. “Farmers are not able to utilise rainwater adequately because there’s no proper channel for it,” he said. He understands the local rainfall and irrigation patterns, as three of his four sons, ranging in ages from 25 to 40, are farmers. A fourth works as a helper in a sweet shop in Chennai.
“The second canal will not only help in providing water for irrigation, but also give people the opportunity to fish. I have created four small ponds as well, through its course,” Mr. Bhuiya said. The previous canal took rainwater to an existing village pond, from where people use water for irrigation.
Farmers in this area mostly grew maize and gram, but once water became available, they began to grow wheat and rice too, resulting in a higher income.
Rinku Kumar, a primary school teacher in Kothilwa village, praised Mr. Bhuiya’s work and said, “The youth of the village was migrating to other places in search of jobs. Laungi Bhuiyan, who used to go to the forest daily to graze goats, thought about the future of the village.”
Another villager, Kesariya Devi, said the water crisis will end once the second canal is operational. “Earlier water in the area was available at a depth of 100 feet; now we hit water at 20 feet,” she said, indicating that the groundwater levels have risen. “Hardly anyone could afford a borewell here, but now many people have them, since the depth they have to bore to is less than before.”
When Mr. Bhuiya began to carve out the first canal, villagers called him Pagla Bhuiya (Mad Bhuiya). His wife Ram Rati Devi threw him out of the house briefly. His second son Brahmdeo said family members would earlier hide his axe and spade, so he could not work. But Mr. Bhuiya devised a way of hiding his own tools near the canal, returning home empty-handed.
“However, after seeing the impact of his work, now all the villagers praise him. I am proud that my father has done something for humanity. Though he is ageing, he still works for six to seven hours a day,” said Brahmdeo.
Mr. Bhuiya’s only wish now is to get an earth-moving machine to quicken the pace of his work.
