Description

Dashrath Manjhi, also known as the Mountain Man, was an Indian laborer from Gehlaur village, near Gaya in the eastern state of Bihar. When his wife died in 1959 after being injured from falling from a mountain and due to the same mountain blocking easy access to a nearby hospital in time, he decided to carve a 110-metre-long (360 ft), 9.1-metre-wide (30 ft), and 7.7-metre-deep (25 ft) path through a ridge of hills using only a hammer and a chisel. After 22 years of work, Dashrath shortened travel between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of Gaya district from 70 km (43 mi) to 1 km (0.62 mi). He travelled to New Delhi to get recognition of his work and was rewarded by then Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar. In 2016, Indian Post issued a postage stamp featuring Manjhi.