Meet Sitaram Rajput, the 70-Year-Old From MP Who Spent 18 Months Digging a Well to Solve His Village’s Water Crisis

In Hadua village of Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, where the government has failed, a 70-year-old became a ray of hope. Hadua has been facing water crisis since the past two and half years. With no well to draw proper drinking water, the villagers were suffering from severe scarcity of water. The village has been reeling under the scorching heat of the sun with no option left when Sitaram Rajput decided to take the issue into his hands. Rajput singlehandedly dug a well for the village.

News Agency ANI quoted him as saying, "No one is helping, neither the government nor people of the village." The incident which caught the attention of Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia who took a dig at Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He wrote on Twitter, "People are dying in absence of water in 44-degree temperature. 70-year-old Sitaram Rajput is single-handedly digging up a well in Chttarpur district."

Adding he wrote, "Shivraj Singh ji, you have not been able to provide even the basic amenities to the people of the state, it is a matter a shame for you and your government."

Speaking to Times Of India, Sitaram revealed that he used to dig from dawn to noon and then again from afternoon to sunset daily. He had even completed the work in 2017, however, it collapsed in monsoon as the walls weren't plastered.

However, Sitaram is undeterred with the mishap and has picked up the shovel again. Initially, Sitaram’s family had opposed digging of the well as there was no guarantee of water coming out of the well. Finally, the family was in for a surprise as after 18 months, they good water in the well.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 24, 2018 06:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).