In the drought-prone hills outside Gaya, Bihar, water and work had been slipping away from the village of Kothilwa for decades. Farmers couldn't irrigate. People left for cities. Nobody expected one man with a shovel to fix it.

Thirty Years, One Shovel

Every day for about 30 years, Laungi Bhuiyan walked into the forested hills near Kothilwa to graze his cattle. And every day, while his animals grazed, he dug. He was carving a 3-kilometre channel through rocky hillside terrain so that rainwater flowing off the Bangetha mountains could reach his village's fields instead of draining into the river below. He worked without government support, without machinery, and without company. When it rained, the hills were full of water. When it stopped, the fields were dry. Bhuiyan decided to change the arithmetic.

What the Canal Did

The canal channels seasonal rainwater into a pond in Kothilwa, from which farmers across 8-10 surrounding villages draw irrigation water. Before the canal, villagers migrated to cities for seasonal work because local farming was impossible without reliable water. After three decades of digging, Bhuiyan had quietly built what no government project had provided. His son Baramdev described watching his father return from the hills day after day, year after year, with dirt on his hands and a pickaxe over his shoulder.

Going Viral in 2020

The story broke out in September 2020, drawing comparisons to Dashrath Manjhi - the Bihar "Mountain Man" who carved a road through a hill alone over 22 years. Journalists reached Kothilwa and filmed the canal. A Twitter user shared the footage and tagged Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group. Mahindra responded immediately: "I think his canal is as impressive a monument as the Taj or the Pyramids." He arranged for a Mahindra tractor to be delivered to Bhuiyan - the proposal was made on the morning of September 19, 2020, and the tractor arrived at Kothilwa that same evening.

He Still Repairs It Every Year

As of 2024, the canal still lacks a concrete lining. It washes out partially every monsoon, and Bhuiyan repairs it each year. He has been asked why he didn't wait for the government. His answer: "It took me 30 years to dig this canal which takes the water to a pond in the village." He was not making an excuse. He was answering a different question. Not "why alone?" - but "how long does it take?" The answer is 30 years. The canal is there.

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