It is incredible what wonders can be achieved when people come together and pool in their resources. This is the story of the residents of a place called Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh.
Almost a decade ago, superstar Amitabh Bachchan had laid the foundation stone for Srimati Aishwarya Bachchan Degree College in Barabanki.
The superstar had donated ten bighas to Daulatpur Panchayat for construction of the college amid much fanfare.
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He had also even given Rs 5 lakhs to the village.
Ten years hence, on that same area of land, stands a college. The credit for this goes not to the Bachchan family, but the villagers, who took crowd-sourcing funds for the construction.
Satyawan Shukla, who had taken the initiative to construct the building, was soon joined by other villagers, who contributed as much as they could. For example, Rammilan Shukla donated 13 acres while other villagers started donating money. India Today reported that the construction of the college started on November 17, 2017.
Affiliated to R M L Avadh University, Faizabad, the college will be offering B.A. and B.Sc courses.
Speaking to News18, Ramesh Chandra, a resident of Daulatpur, said, “When Amitabh Bachchan announced the degree college in their village, we were convinced that the fate of the village will change. But even after 10 years, nothing has been done.”
“So everyone decided to crowdfund the college as youngsters had to go for higher education and the nearest college here is 30 kilometres away.”
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At a time when most of us crib and criticise the inaction of authorities, these villagers took control and changed things for themselves.
Another story we brought to you was that of Shyam Lal, a resident of Saja Pahad village in Koriya district of Chhattisgarh who spent the last 27 years of his life digging up and enlarging a pond.
Shyam was all of 15 when he decided to do something about the drought that prevailed in his village, killing many of the villagers’ cattle and leaving their fields dry. He did not give in to the jeers and taunts that the villagers would often hurl at him. He decided that he would not stop before he had revived the pond.
You can read all about his incredible story here.
Compelling, isn’t it? If you or someone you know have done something similar, do tell us your story.
(Edited by Shruti Singhal)
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