Hareli is the first festival related to agriculture, which has been created in the rural life of the rural people of Chhattisgarh. Celebrated on the new moon of the month of Sawan, this festival is actually a folk festival of love and dedication towards nature. On the day of Hareli, farmers express their gratitude to Mother Earth for nurturing all living beings along with wishing for a good harvest. Everyone enthusiastically welcomes the greenery and new crop scattered all around with the arrival of rains. In the villages, on the day of Hareli, all the tools related to farming, including nagar, gait, spade, shovel, fields and cow are worshipped. Cheela, Gulgul Bhajiya prasad is made in all homes. After the worship, people start gathering in the squares and squares of the village. Here competitions like Gedi race, coconut throwing, matki burst, tug of war go on for a long time. People celebrate happiness by climbing a Gedi in a traditional way. It is believed that during the rainy days to avoid water and mud, there is a practice of climbing the Gedi, which has been converted into a tradition with time. The Gedi folk dance performed on this occasion has also been an important part of the ancient culture of Chhattisgarh. In Hareli, blacksmiths have a custom of hammering nails on the main door of the house and applying neem leaves. It is believed that this keeps families away from evil. In Chhattisgarh, on the initiative of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, an initiative has been taken to save its glorious culture and tradition related to soil and pass it on to the coming generations. The Government of Chhattisgarh has started this by organizing public events with pomp and show in the entire state including the Chief Minister’s residence. Due to this, the youth of the new generation have also started connecting with their old traditions. The government has declared the day of Hareli festival as a public holiday. From this year, special celebration of Hareli Tihar is being started in the schools of the state. With this, children will not only understand their agricultural culture, become an active part of it, but will also be able to imbibe the basic spirit of their culture. Along with this, events like Gedi race, tree plantation, seminar on environmental protection in schools will develop love for their culture and nature in the children. Saving the traditional folk values in Chhattisgarh, the vision of Garhbo Nava Chhattisgarh is being realized. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, work is being done to strengthen the rural economy by using traditional resources. Due to this, the state government had started ‘Go-Dhan Nyay Yojana’ two years ago in the year 2020 on the day of Hareli. Initially no one had imagined that this scheme of buying cow dung would create a strong foundation for the economy of the villages. Today it has proved to be a very popular scheme in rural areas. Under this unique scheme, the government made cow dung a new source of income for the villagers and started buying cow dung at the rate of Rs. The cattle rearing villagers have earned more than Rs 150 crore in the last two years by selling cow dung. Self-help groups have prepared more than 20 lakh quintals of vermi compost from the purchased cow dung, which is promoting organic farming in the state. So far, women’s groups and Gauthan committees have received more than Rs 143 crore from the manufacture and sale of vermi compost. Along with this, local women have got new means of employment by making various decorative items including pots and dung from cow dung. Extending the Godhan Nyay Yojana, the state government is going to start the purchase of cow urine at the rate of Rs 4 per liter in Gauthans from Hareli Tihar this year. Women self-help groups will prepare Jeevamrut and pest control products from this cow urine. With this new source of employment and income, organic farming will be encouraged and the cost of agriculture will be reduced. Farmer brothers will be able to use a pest control product made from cow urine instead of chemical insecticide, which will reduce the toxicity of food grains and reduce the dependence on expensive chemical pesticides. These innovations have made Hareli a symbol of new chapters of organic farming and economic empowerment in the state. It seems that the dream of ‘Gram Swaraj’ of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi is now being realized in Chhattisgarh in the form of self-sufficient villages. The beginning which has been made in Chhattisgarh to preserve the traditions and mold them according to the modern needs, it needs to be carried forward with the cooperation of all. This step of ours to move forward towards eco-friendly development by connecting with nature will be the best contribution for a better tomorrow. Like this:Like Loading… Continue Reading