Engineer’s Day: Dashrath Manjhi was fondly called the ‘Mountain Man of India’.
On Engineer’s Day, industrialist Anand Mahindra praised the efforts of Dashrath Manjhi, who had built a road through a mountain in Gaya district of Bihar. Mr Mahindra said Mr Manjhi achieved the impossible despite not being computer literate. He became known as the ‘Mountain Man of India’ because of his determination and perseverance. It took Mr Manjhi 22 years to build the 300 meters long and 25 meters wide road. He was rewarded by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. In 2016, Indian Post issued a postage stamp featuring Mr Manjhi.
“On #EngineersDay2023, I bow deeply to this man. No, he was not an engineer. No, he did not graduate from any technology institute. No, he was not even computer literate nor did he design machines. But he believed what every true engineer believes, “NOTHING is impossible,” said Mr. Mahindra in his post on X (formerly Twitter).
On #EngineersDay2023 I bow deeply to this man. No, he was not an engineer. No, he did not graduate from any technological institute. No, he wasn’t even computer literate and didn’t design machines. But he believed what every true engineer believes: “NOTHING is impossible.” https://t.co/zwyDe4Swr0
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) September 15, 2023
His post was viewed more than 1.6 million times within a few hours.
“For me, engineering was about not giving up. Finding a way. Proud to be an engineer. It’s not a degree, it’s a lifestyle for me,” said one user.
“Dashrath Manjhi is an inspiration to billions of people,” said another. “It must have been an engineer in my last birth sir,” said a third user.
Mr Manjhi, who lived in Nagar village in Gaya district, worked on the road construction from 1960 to 1982. His efforts linked Ghivra Mauja of Dashrath Nagar, in Gehlaur Ghati, with Atara Prakhand, Wajirganj, reducing the distance from 75 km to just one km.
Mr Manjhi died in 2007 at the age of 70.
