Khejri tree rampantly felled at solar sites

Known as the ‘Pride of Rajasthan’ and ‘Kalp Vriksha’ of the desert, khejri has long been struggling for survival due to root borer and fungal infections forcing it to dry up

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A symbol of survival in the harsh climate of Thar desert and tagged as state tree of Rajasthan, ‘khejri’ (Prosopis Cineraria) is now fighting a battle for its survival, desperately looking for another Amrita Bishnoi, who laid down her life for the protection of the tree in 1730 AD.

However, for past few years, it is faced with a man-made threat -- solar plants -- which has unleashed mass elimination of these trees.

This threat stood substantiated when the district administration of Phalodi last year recovered 47 khejri trees buried at a solar plant site in Badi Sid under the Baap tehsil, a prominent site for solar plants.

Activists from different Bishnoi organisations, who staged a demonstration in Phalodi following the recovery against the indiscriminate felling of the tree, claimed to have satellite images validating their claim that thousands of bighas of land have been cleared to accommodate solar plants in Jaisalmer, Phalodi, Jodhpur and Bikaner districts.