Difficult situations are like gunpowder, which spark light and illuminates the path of life. In a small village in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, life was unstable and difficult.
Be it fuel for the stove or fodder for animals, fruits for one’s own food or medicine for the sick, everything was available only in the forest which was miles away.
Sometimes people would fall from the mountains or get injured by wild animals. The situation was horrible. Jagat Singh Chaudhary decided to bring the forest itself to the village.
After many years of continuous hard work, he achieved his aim. Today the whole country including Uttarakhand knows him by the name of Junglee.
The villagers had to walk miles to fetch water. They had to wander through dry forests for the whole day till they collected fodder, fuel and wood. When he saw the problems of the people of the village, he felt pain.
When Jagat Singh’s grandfather was on his deathbed, he took a promise from him that he would take care of his two and a half acres of land located above the village. There was only one tree on this whole barren land. This only tree can be distinguished even today due to its age. Jagat Singh planted some saplings in the rains and came home in winters and started taking care of the surviving plants.
In the next rains, he planted some more saplings and the process went on. In four to five years, there was so much greenery on that barren that now there was no problem of fodder and fuel for the women of the house.
He left his army job to dedicate all his time and life to the forest. After retirement, he spent most of the money of the fund received in the planting of trees of all species. Cash crops like turmeric, ginger, cardamom were also planted. The result of twenty-five years of tireless hard work paid off as today there are more than one lakh plants of hundred species in his forest.
More than three decades ago, the land which was barren had been made fertile by the dedication and hard work of Jagat Singh Chaudhary. In this forest situated at an altitude of more than two thousand feet, he has grown such species that are scientifically impossible to grow at such a height. Along with mango, papaya, assamese bamboo, he has also grown cedar and oak.
One can find Radish, onion, potato, tomato, gooseberry tree, cardamom bushes, almonds, Hungarian roses, tea, mountain fruit trees, medicinal herbs and much more. His journey was not easy. Initially he was considered mad by the people. Forest officials made fun of him. But he was dedicated and focused.
Jagat Singh Chaudhary is now the Green ambassador of Uttarakhand. He also visited schools, institutions, villages to spread awareness about water and soil conservation. It was only because of him that all the problems faced by the villagers were resolved. Jagat Singh Chaudhary is an example and inspiration for everyone in this country.