'Borewell Man' of Maharashtra digs borewells with his hands in Sangola Taluka

NPnews24 Online Solapur: While the fight with the drought and severe water scarcity has moved several people to do wonders, this man from a village Sangola taluka of Solapur has dug 56 borewells with his own hands.

Dubbed the ‘Manjhi’ of Solapur, Datta Shinde, a resident of Balwadi village began his unique project in the year 2011.

Since then, he has dug 56 borewells of the exact same measurements.

Sangola has been known to be the drought-prone taluka in Solapur district for years, and the residents have always suffered through the problems of water scarcity. While digging borewells with the help of machines is not always affordable to the poor farmers, the Shinde started his work with merely a hoe and a spade.

Taking inspiration from the small water storage units that the farmers earlier built in their fields to irrigate the crop, he decided to keep the radius of the wells 3 feet each. While everyone told him that it was impossible to dig a borewell that small without using any machinery, Shinde did not deter from his determination thus proving that there is nothing that the human spirit cannot achieve.

His efforts can be seen in the form of beautiful Pomegranate fields of Balwadi, as well as the green stretches of animal fodder. The villagers are taking new crops, and earning livelihood has become easier for many.

With help from his wife and an assistant, he began digging water facilities for the farmers in their fields at minimal cost. While Shinde earlier faced health issues like suffocation, heat, coughing, etc. while digging at the depth over 50 feet, in the last eight years he has gotten used to the labour now.

While it takes around Rs 1 to 1.25 lakhs to dig a borewell with machine, Shinde carries out the work in just Rs 25,000. The villagers of Balwadi and surrounding areas who earlier dreaded summers are now dreaming big, thanks to the local Manjhi of their village.

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