A new wave of world fame Chipko movement is gaining momentum day by day in Chhattisgarh. People are tying Rakhis (sacred protective thread) to trees and taking oath to protect them as their own brethren.
A new trend has also emerged to decorate trees with very large size of attractive Rakhi and create collective conservation consciousness among wide cross section of the society. On 19 August 2013 , the largest and longest Rakhi of the world was tied to a group of 50 trees in Kachhe village near Bhanupratappur of Kanker district in Bastar Revenue Division.
The circumference of the Rakhi is 72 feet and diameter is 25 feet. Its weight is about 250 kg and it is prepared in 5 days by Virendra Singh a dedicated Green Commando under guidance of Mrs Suniti Yadav – the Tree Woman of India. local tribal women have donated their 15 old Sarees for preparing this Rakhi. Its side ribbon is 200 feet in length which tied 50 trees of Sal and some other species. Not only this 30 girl students sat in a circle and formed a very large Rakhi to highlight our eternal relation with our mother earth.
This environmental wave reflect the sense of people’s participation specially our younger generation to protect trees because what it is trying to protect is not merely few trees here and there but the entire life support system and with it, the option for human survival.