SIRSI(UTTARA KANNADA): Unable to afford a trip to Prayagraj for the Mahakumbh Mela, 57-year-old Gowri has done something unique. She has dug a 40-foot-deep well in her backyard, bringing “Ganga” to earth. She has done it all by herself, and this is not her first time.
In mid-2024, she dug a well to quench the thirst of Anganwadi children and staff amid opposition from the district administration.
“One has to be lucky to go to Mahakumbh. I cannot afford it (Gowri owns a small patch of agriculture land which helps earn her livelihood). I decided to dig a well here and bring Ganga,” she told The New Indian Express.
She has now dug 40 feet deep and is happy that there is sufficient water in the well.
“I am planning to take a dip on Maha Shivaratri day later this month,” she said.
Gowri had heard of the Mahakumbh Mela in December, but realised that she did not have enough money to travel to Prayagraj. That was when she decided to dig the well and started immediately on December 15.
According to her relatives and neighbours, she worked for nearly 6-8 hours a day — digging and dumping the soil. She completed the well on February 15, exactly two months after she started her effort.
Digging a well without the help of anybody is not new to Gowri. With this, she has dug four wells all by herself -- one in her field for cultivation, another to quench the thirst of the people of her village and the third one at the Ganesh Nagar Anganwadi School in Sirsi in mid-2024.
The Anganwadi well was strongly objected to by the district administration after the media reported about her task. The then deputy commissioner ordered the digging to stop at once.
District in-charge minister Mankal Vaidya first honoured her, but later asked her to stop it. But Gowri completed the well after she was supported by then Uttara Kannada Member of Parliament Ananth Kumar Hegde.
He ensured that she completed the well. She had then dug a 45-ft-deep well and it is still in use.
In case of the new well, which she has again dug all alone, Gowri expressed her happiness that she found water in the well.
