| Ayyappan Kochukunju, Puthiya Veettil, Veliyannoor, Panamattam, Ponkunnam, Kottayam |
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Age was against him. So was the soil. Yet by his perseverance, 94-year-old Ayyappan Kochukunju of Puthiya Veettil, Veliyannoor, Panamattam was able to dig a well all alone in the rocky terrain in front of his house.
Seeing his wife Janaki walk almost a kilometer to fetch water, Kochukunju had ventured to take up the implements. The work, which began in November 2003, was completed just the other day. And one of the reasons for the long period of construction was the rock found at 1’kol’ depth.
But rock or no rock, Kochukunju was not prepared to admit defeat. He had his own way of surmounting this obstacle.
Collecting coconut husks from neighbours, he set fire to them on top of the rock. The hot rock was then suddenly quenched by sprinkling water. He then hammered the rock to produce fissures in it. This forced weathering cracked the monolithic rock and made it pliable to further disintegration by steel rod and hammer.
He removed the boulders and soil from the well all alone. At the end of this year-long penance, he is happy to note that his wife will not have to trek long distance to draw water. The well is 11½ ‘kol’ deep.
A retired mason, Kochukunju had given up the job 30 years ago owing to ill health. However, he does farming work, according to Janaki.
Courtesy: K.A.Abbas, Rashtra Deepika, April 18, 2005
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