A village in northern India voted to change its name to Snapdeal.com Nagar, after an Indian startup installed water pumps in the town, showing how the power of philanthropy can work in strange ways.
The town, formerly named after the Hindu god Shiva, reportedly decided on the name change after Snapdeal, a leading Indian e-commerce company, installed fifteen hand-powered water pumps so that villagers would no longer have to walk nearly two miles to access clean water.

“It cost us $5,000 max, but it was quite life changing for residents there,” said Kunal Bahl, founder of the company, to CNN.

The villagers’ decision to rename the town was apparently spontaneous. “They just wanted to express their gratitude,” said Bahl.

Bahl said he hoped Snapdeal’s action would both highlight how the government is failing the rural poor and also inspire other Indian companies to take on philanthropic projects.

“India has about 640,000 incorporated companies,” he said. “Many are much larger and more resourced than us. Even if ten percent decided to do something like this, 64,000 villages would have clean water.”

Bahl said he intends to continue his company’s relationship with the town, with a plan to donate computers next on the agenda.