People of a small village 60 KM away from Delhi called Taj Nagar had a train track passing near by but no station. They would see trains passing by but could benefit from it. It was quite inconvenient & expensive to reach nearby cities using other means of transport. Approaching government didn’t help, it did not have funds. People decided to help themselves. A mammoth sum of Rs 25,00,000 was required. It was worked out that every house needs to chip in at least Rs 3000, and they did it.
Government provided land and technical help. Soon a humble train station was a reality. Commuting became easier and cheaper. But this is not the end of story, but the beginning.
Now the villagers want this station to succeed. Villagers, on their own accord, go to the station and buy few tickets, not to travel, just to support the station. Even traveling students buy two tickets at least. And more, there is a person to support passengers throughout the day even during late night to assist passengers. One such volunteer explained “we do not want passengers to have bad experience here, especially lone females, they must feel safe & secure travelling to this station at night”.
And they are not ending it there. The plan is to build a girls high school with their own help, the first in the area.
O my God, Why are they so devoted and we in the third world, especially Muslims are so unhelpful to ourselves and each other?
My friends! Wakeup, help yourself; help others.
Listen to this short story on BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/india/2010/01/100127_tajnagar_ka.shtml