DEHRADUN: Residents of Kharki village in Nainital district turned Dashrath Manjhi amidst lockdown and built three kilometres of road all by themselves in a month.
The road to their village was damaged due to which people were having to walk to the connecting road.
Durgadutt Paladia (36), a resident of the village said, "We used to work between 7 am and 1 pm and used to maintain social distancing. Now, that the road is complete, atleast motorbikes can be used to commute till the main road."
About 200 residents of 40 families worked in rotation to build the road. The road can be used by two-wheelers thereby easing the life of the residents.
People of the village and nearby areas had to travel using ‘pagdandi’- a narrow pathway resembling footpath. Men, women, teenagers and anyone who could lift up tools volunteered to work to save resources and money.
Another resident, Hemant Rawat told The New Indian Express, "The road was damaged due to landslides last monsoon and we have to walk 3 kms to the connecting road. We decided to do it ourselves and not wait for the government."
The road was thrown open on Monday for functioning as people started commuting using their two-wheelers to shop for essentials.
The routine of the residents involved getting to the site as early as 6 am and work till 9 am. Afterwards another team of 10-15 people replaced them for another 3 hours.
Others used to supply cooked food, water and other edible items so that those working could eat on time without getting exhausted.
The road was build by digging up the mud and stones paving the way for using the debris to even the road.
The residents used spade, shovel and other small tools to cut the grass of the road which engulfed the damaged structure.