Old banyan tree at Jyotisar Tirtha to be Kurukshetra mascot

Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, September 16

The banyan tree at Jyotisar Tirtha — which is believed to be an offshoot of the one under which Lord Krishna delivered the sermon of ‘Gita’ to Pandava prince Arjuna during the Mahabharata — will be now be promoted and used as a mascot or “brand ambassador” for Kurukshetra.

The Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) has planned to get the saplings of the tree ready to get these planted at all major ‘tirthas’ across the country.

The KDB has handed over seeds of the tree to the state Forest Department so that some saplings could be prepared.

An official of the Forest Department said, “We have got the seeds of the banyan tree and the germination of the seeds is being checked. If the germination percentage is good, then the saplings will be ready by next year. In case the germination percentage is not good, then other methods of propagation will be used. After preparing the saplings, the department will hand over the saplings to the KDB for further distribution. We have also contacted the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, to determine the age of the tree. While the project will help the KDB in promoting Kurukshetra, it will help the department in increasing forest cover.”

Meanwhile, Green Earth, an NGO that has been seeking the status of national cultural heritage for the tree for several years has welcomed the KDB’s move.

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