Man digs well in 40 days, after wife denied water by upper caste

India is facing the worst drought in decades, so when refused to draw water from a well due to caste hierarchy, one man took it upon himself to build his own.

Labourer Bapurao Tajne from drought-hit Kalambeshwar village in the western state of Maharashtra, single-handedly built a well in 40 days after his wife was refused water because they were Dalits-one of  the most discriminated groups in India's caste system.

Now, the entire Dalit locality of the village is drawing water from his well and do not have to depend on people from other castes for water, reports Times of India.

Though he had never dug a well before, he devoted six hours daily for 40 days until he struck water. No one, not even his family members, helped him. Everybody thought he had gone crazy.

"I feel that he (the well owner) insulted us because we are poor and Dalits. I came home that day in March and almost cried. I resolved never to beg for water from anybody. I went to Malegaon (the closest town) and bought tools and within an hour I started digging," Tajne told TOI at his modest home.

There was no hydrological study to select the spot, Tajne went by instinct. "I prayed fervently to God before starting the job. I am thankful that my effort has been rewarded," he said.

Tajne is a daily wager and couldn't afford to give up work for digging a well. He worked for four hours before leaving for work and two hours on return. He did back-breaking work for 14 hours a day almost without a break during those 40 days. "It is difficult to explain what I felt in those days. I just wanted to provide water for my whole locality so that we Dalits did not have to beg for water from other castes," said the labourer, who has studied up to final year of BA.

His wife Sangita now regrets mocking at him. "I did not help him a bit until he struck water. Now the whole family, except the two kids, helps him as he deepens and widens the well. It is already 15 feet deep and Bapurao wants to dig 5 feet further. It is 6 feet wide at the top and he wants to make it 8 feet wide. We are hoping our neighbours will help us in this task," she said.

Jaishree, a neighbour, is all praise for him. "Thanks to Tajne we get water round the clock. Earlier, we had to travel a kilometre to another part of the village and get insulted sometimes."

Film actor Nana Patekar spoke to Tajne over phone and promised to meet him soon. A social worker from Washim presented him Rs 5000.

But Tajne is too proud to ask for help. "When the tehsildar asked me what sort of help I needed, I told her to do whatever was appropriate."

Source: Times of India