Royal Rajasthan Foundation establishes “Royal Amrita Devi Bishnoi Nursery”

Jaipur, April 2, 2019: In recent years, global attention has been shifted to women travelling several kilometres to gather water for their household usage, especially in deserts where water is scarce. They wait for as long as two-three hours standing in the queue, sometimes even make multiple trips to fetch enough water for home.

The distinctive richness of the state of Rajasthan can be accredited to its rich cultural heritage, the land of kings and their palaces and vibrant communities. However, the state still looks to quench its thirst.

Back in 1730 AD, Late Amrita Devi from a small village Khejarli in Rajasthan started a war to protect sacred Kheri trees. The Bishnoi lady sacrificed her life along with her three daughters to save the trees from being cut. Her sacrifice empowered the community and people from village also raised their voices for the cause.  Later on the incident became the inspiration for the Chipko Movement.

The conservation and restoration is the need of hour to be able to create awareness among women who can be a driving force to empower the society towards a better livelihood. With long term solutions in place to increase water table level, one can think of cutting down travel time of women to fetch water, ensure their safety and better productivity.

Taking into consideration this social issue and drawing the inspiration from the Go Green initiative of RCB, the RR launched the Green Jaipur initiative on the 22nd May 2018. This year, Go Green initiative of RCB would be supported by the Royal Rajasthan Foundation to create conducive environment for empowering women of the state.

Ahead of today’s match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the host team presented a sapling of Khejri tree to RCB skipper Virat Kohli to mark team’s commitment to support women as the driving force in bringing about a social change and also as good will ambassadors promoting sustainable living with minimalistic use of natural resources, primarily water. This gesture marks the official launch of “Royal Amrita Devi Bishnoi Nursery” at Sawai ManSingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Commenting on this, Ranjit Barthakur, Executive Chairman for Rajasthan Royals said, “Women of India have always been the shinning example of valour, integrity and resilience. One such dynamic persona has been that of Smt. Amrita Devi Bishnoi, who rose as a symbol of women’s empowerment, leading path for social and economic emancipation of women, along with highlighting the importance of ecological awareness among masses. She, single handedly led a movement that inspired the famous Chipko Movement.”

“We are very thankful to Royal Challengers Bangalore team who have been consistently working towards creating a greener and healthier environment with their efforts. We are proud to be part of this initiative and taking it ahead at our home Rajasthan,” added Barthakur.

The nursery will have a mix of Khejri and fruit-bearing trees that can be further shared with women of Bishnoi community who can then plant these in their communities. The idea of the initiative is to create a sustainable value chain of spreading message of practicing sustainable use and development of the available resources which includes encouraging planting plants and trees that are native and indigenous to the region, capable of thriving with minimum water supporting the rural women folk in leading a self sufficient life.

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