Before, getting between Atri and Wazirganj, the areas on either side of the mountain, meant about 55 kilometers around it. Through Manjhi's passage, it was about 15.
Manjhi said Falguni was where it all began. "My love for my wife was the initial spark that ignited in me the desire to carve out a road," he said.
But she was not the only reason he kept going. "What kept me working without fear or worry all those years," he said, "was the desire to see thousands of villagers crossing the hill with ease whenever they wanted."