Dashrath Manjhi, 75, died at All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi where he was admitted in July-end for treatment of cancer of the gall bladder.
He is survived by a son and a daughter.
With just a chisel and a hammer, Manjhi spent 22 years carving a 1.5 km-long, 22-feet-wide and 30-ft-high pathway through a hill in Gaya district that reduced 19-km distance between his Gahlaur village and Wazirganj to a couple of kilometres.
Only recently, the forest department cleared a proposal for laying a 'pucca' (metalled) road on the pathway carved by him.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, himself an engineer, had announced that Manjhi would be laying the foundation of the road but fate willed otherwise.
Kumar, who had Manjhi occupy his chair as a mark of respect when the septuagenarian came calling a few months ago at his 'Janata Ke Durbar Mein Mukhya Mantri' programme seeking government sanction for the road project, expressed deep grief at his demise.
He called on ailing Manjhi at the AIIMS a few days ago and has announced a state funeral for him. He has also proposed a road and a hospital at Manjhi's village to be named after him.
The state government bore the cost of treatment of Manjhi. - DDNEWS
