Granny with a heart of gold gifts elixir of life to her people

SRIKAKULAM:  A borewell at Hudco Colony in Palasa-Kasibugga municipality is going to be named Kalyani. Wonder why a name for a borewell? First up, she is no politician. Neither is she a wealthy philanthropist. She is a 65-year-old single woman who ekes out her living as a daily wage worker and gets social security pension. She lives in a single room and pays a monthly rent of Rs 600. But what she has is a heart of gold. “Getting potable water is a big problem for us. In peak summer, women have to walk up to two km to get water.

Several representations to government officials and politicians to dig a borewell fell on deaf ears,’’ says Boyina Kalyani, explaining the reason behind her determination to somehow get a borewell for the residents. Kalyani was orphaned at a young age and her marriage too didn’t last with her husband walking away. She has been living alone for the last 10 years. To dig a borewell requires money. But that didn’t deter her. She sold away gold her mother had given her, pooled in all her savings which came to around Rs 1.10 lakh. Some of her well-wishers tried to dissuade her, advising her instead to build for herself a small house. She preferred not to.

Armed with the money, Kalyani approached Agriculture Market Committee chairman and local chartered accountant P V Satish a couple of months back to help her dig a borewell to quench the thirst of the locals. Satish too advised her not to invest the money on the borewell but get a house constructed. Kalyani refused and persisted forcing Satish to finally bring a geologist and also speak with a borewell company. The geologist did not give an assurance that borewell in the locality could get water as the area is hilly and groundwater levels are low.

Kalyani, however, insisted that a hand bore be set up and much to the delight and surprise of the people, workers were able to strike water at a depth of 250 ft itself whereas some people had failed even after plumbing up to 350 ft. “As a single woman, I don’t have big dreams. Blessings of my parents and God’s grace helped me fulfil my dream,’’ a beaming Kalyani says. Satish paid her compliments, praising her kind heart and commitment for the way the people finally got water supply in an adverse geographical region. The hand bore was inaugurated by Palasa-Kasibugga municipal chairman B Giri Babu.