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Comment by batgaijin | Hacker News Reader

I would have used dynamite, but to each his own.

I am sure that every poor person in India has the spare money to buy dynamite, the expertise to use it, access to it and the legal permissions. /sarcasm

Why do some people try to denigrate something which is wonderful with smart alecky comments.

yes what this person did was wonderful, but it shouldn't blind us away from what the govt. should have done in the first place. He did the work of an entire department under the Bihar state govt. It is kind of annoying that how the govt. didn't even realize it was their job. It makes me think it didn't because they honored him with a state funeral. They should have established a procedure and let the public know that its their job to do such things and how the public should approach them, instead of just making him a hero; making him just a hero implicitly says that acts like that are _encouraged_.

I originally come from same region this story is about and currently as we stand Bihar is one of the poorest states in India. Much of road work in Gaya district happens courtesy of Japanese govt. funds (Gaya is a popular Buddhist tourist attraction).

Now back in 1960 I can only imagine the chaos the country was in. We just got independence. State and central govts are just figuring out, how to run a country. How to channel funds where the need is most. There is whole bureaucratic and panchayat system which is still being established. Also a state funeral after 47 years hardly can mean anything other than the deed was well done.

Having said all of above, Bihar is still a poor state. Current state govt. is trying but I wouldn't be surprised if similar things happen again. It is not very unusual for entire river bridges to be washed away during some rain and villages to be cut off from rest of the world (even now).

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate having your local viewpoint!

Of course that's not possible when dynamite isn't available (either by cost or by regulation). Given that the entire village benefits, one always wonders about other people helping out (or not). And of course it is a testament to people just doing what they set out to do, regardless of the personal cost.

I'm reminded of a more modern context in the shape of the Craigslist/Padmapper debate, one guy may have built a new Craigslist right now and is out there signing up people one or two at a time to post on it, and in 20 years that person may carve a new path into classified listings. But who really thinks about embarking on tech projects these days which might take 20 years?

Not a Fight Club fiend, eh?

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