Bihar Facts

Dashrath Manjhi carved a road through a rocky hill in Bihar, India, using only a hammer and chisel - alone - for 22 years. When he finished in 1982, the journey from his village to the nearest town dropped from 55 km to 15 km. He started because his wife, Falguni, died in 1959 after a fall on the ridge path left her unable to reach a doctor in time. The road is still used today.

Laungi Bhuiyan spent about 30 years digging a 3-km canal by hand through the hills of Gaya, Bihar - alone, while grazing his cattle - so his drought-stricken village could irrigate their fields. The canal now channels rainwater to 8-10 villages. When the story went viral in 2020, Anand Mahindra called the canal "as impressive a monument as the Taj or the Pyramids."