Baula: We know the story of Dashrath Manjhi, who carved through a mountain to connect with people on the other side. His story was beautifully narrated in the Nawazuddin-starrer ‘Manjhi.’
Like Manjhi, there is a man in our state who is an example for everyone. Gagadhar Rout, a retired employee of the veterinary department and a resident of Kanpur in the Hatadihi block of Keonjhar district, is now on a mission to build a bridge over River Salandi with his pension amount.
Sources said 60 per cent of orchards and agricultural fields of Kanpur are situated on the other side of Salandi. The villagers face many problems in reaching their fields on the other side of the river during rains as they have to use a bamboo bridge.
Due to this problem, the villagers have been demanding a bridge across the river for over two decades.
Realising the problems of the villagers, Gangadhar started constructing a bridge on Salandi using his pension money.
The construction of the bridge is now in its last phase. Gangadhar wants to complete construction of the bridge in June.
Villagers said Gangadhar is the real hero of their village. They said the contributions of politicians and the administration were zero in their area. If people like him contribute to the development of Odisha then nobody can stop it from getting developed, they said.
Asked about this, Gangadhar said, “When I saw the problems of the villagers, I decided to do something. So I started constructing the bridge with my own resources. Without minding hostile comments, I started building the bridge with dedication. With God’s blessings within a few days the construction will be over. The bridge will help our villagers to link up with other panchayats. I will inaugurate the bridge in June and will dedicate it to the memory of two legends of our village, the late Parabasi Rout and the late Pranabandhu Behera.”
PNN
