In Jehanabad, 50-year-old Ganauri Paswan is being called the next ‘mountain man’ after Dashrath Majhi as he has made a stone stairway of 400 stairs by cutting a 1500-feet high mountain in eight years.
Manjhi, a Bihar labourer was called Mountain Man as he carved a path through a ridge from Gehlaur and Gaya so that villagers could have easier access to medical care. His wife died in 1959 and he could not take her to the hospital on time because the road had a difficult terrain. Majhi carved a path 110 m long, 7.7 m deep in places and 9.1 m wide to form a road through the ridge of rocks.
Simlarly, Paswan was moved by the difficulty the people of Jehanabad faced while visiting the Yogeshwar Nath temple in Jaru Banwaria village of Hulasganj police station area for bhajan kirtan. It is 30 kilometers away on a mountaintop. But the route was rough and senior citizens could not go there.
To make reaching the mountain temple easier for people, Paswan along with his wife cut the rocky mountain with a hammer and chisel and made stairs to the top of the 1500 feet high mountain.
They made an easy way to the top from two sides. One road has been made from Jaru village and the other from Banwaria village. The villagers and his family cooperated with him throughout the eight years of work required to build this.
Earlier it used to take four to six hours to reach the temple on the high hill. The residents say, during their travels, they were also injured by thorns and sharp stones.
But now it only takes 20 minutes through the stairs that Paswan has built.
Paswan was earlier a truck driver. After that, he started working as a mason. He was very interested in folk music and singing and would see the Jaru Banwariya village singing troupe singing their way to Baba Yogeshwar Nath temple on the mountain for bhajan kirtan.
He did not like how much hard work it required for people to reach there. That’s why he made a resolution in his mind that he will make the journey to Baba Yogeshwar Nath Dham smooth in every situation. It was from then that he started making stairs by cutting stones.
Paswan also searches for old stone idols by going to the foothills of the mountains. Then these idols are installed by him and his wife on the way to Yogeshwar Nath temple. He discovered a six feet huge black stone statue of Lord Buddha too.
Paswan says his next big resolution is that the Yogeshwar Nath temple should be recognized as a tourist destination.