Chhattisgarh man shaves beard after 21 years on fulfilment of wish

CHHATTISGARH: A man in Chhattisgarh did not shave his beard for 21 years with a resolve to make Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB) a new district.

His resolve was fulfilled on Friday with the Chhattisgarh government launching MCB as the 32nd district of the state.

Ramashankar Gupta, a resident of Manendragarh is an RTI activist. Gupta shaved his beard after 21 years after the announcement of Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur as new district in August last year.

Since it took almost a year for the newly-announced district to be inaugurated, Gupta again did not shave his beard for one year continuing his resolution.

However, his resolve ultimately got fulfilled on Friday inspiring him to have a clean shave look. Gupta also submitted the first memorandum to the collector of the MCB district.

"The resolution was that I will not shave my beard till Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur does not become a district. If Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur would never become a district, I would not have shaved my beard either. It was a struggle for 40 years. The actual people who fought for the recognition of the district have all passed away. Now their souls will rest in peace," Gupta said

"I thank Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for this. I hope Manendragarh will become a model district not just in Chhattisgarh but also in the country," he added.

On Friday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched the 32nd district of Chhattisgarh Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur.

The district headquarters will be at Manendragarh while the 100-bed hospital in Chirmiri will be upgraded as the district hospital.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister inaugurated development projects worth over Rs 200 crore in the new district.