On one such random visit to his village, Madho Singh Bhandari noticed that his beloved son, who was growing into a young man, was not getting enough nutrition. When he asked his wife to serve healthy food to his son, she showed him the dry and barren fields which couldn’t support farming due to the lack of water. Rowing his eyes towards the futile fields, Madho Singh Bhandari vowed that he wouldn’t sleep peacefully until he brings water to the village. The very next day Madho Singh went on a quest and noticed that the nearest water body to the village was the Chandrabhanga River.
In order to guide the stream into the village, they had to dig a 2 km long tunnel through the two mammoth rocks. Madho Singh Bhandari with the help of other villagers excavated a fully functional tunnel from Takoli Gad to Maletha. A strong canal was soon carved out of a hard rock. The upper part of the tunnel was made of big stones secured to the mountain using iron nails, so it does not cave in, even in adverse conditions. But after all these efforts, the water did not flow into the tunnel and the villagers sought help from the regional deity, on whom they had unwavering faith in.
Src: euttaranchal.com
The natives of Maletha still remember Madho Singh in their prayers for the great sacrifice that he made
After worshipping the deity for days when everybody had lost hope, one night the goddess appeared in Madho Singh’s dream and told him that the sacrifice of his son could only make the stream flow into Maletha. In order to appease the goddess and to bring life into the village, Madho Singh Bhandari without giving another thought offered his son to the goddess. As he placed his head at the mouth of the tunnel, the water started flowing and hasn’t stopped replenishing the area ever since.
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