1870

Maharao Pragmalji II

(1860-1875)

Maharao Pragmalji II inaugurated Kutch’s first masonry dam with the name Prayagsar, known today as Pragsar Lake, in a circular valley within the Chadva Hills. Successive monsoon failures throughout the early 1860s had caused severe drought and famine, prompting the Rao to develop innovative watershed projects. The construction cost a ‘Lac of Korees’ and submerged 100+ acres, bringing relief to the land and the people.

Stone inscription located at the edge of Pragsar Lake:

In the hill range of Chadva, near the Bileshwar temple to Lord Shiva, an old lake once known as Asurasar and later as Abu Bhang was in disrepair. Maharaja Dhiraj Mirza Maharao Shri Pragmalji Bahadur undertook the restoration and constructed a beautiful and large ghat. In the year Samvat 1926, on the 7th bright day of the waxing moon, the work was inaugurated. The name given was Prayagsar. In this pious act, he has invested 105000 koris. The surveyors were Shekh Hussain and Gajdhar Thakkar Vishram Madhavji. Pundits and brahmins were called for the puja, wherein these people were honoured.

Adjacent to the lake, Pragmalji II conceived a tropical orchard – a near impossible feat in such an arid region. Today, the cluster of tall tamarinds, chikoo groves, date palms and sprawling ficuses create a bewitching atmosphere. It’s like a secret walled garden-gone-wild, home to heronries and bat colonies.

An enlightened and progressive ruler, Pragmalji II was an elected member of the Royal Asiatic Society and had begun working with the naturalist, Hugh Palin on the creation of a Natural History Museum in Bhuj. Their observations became some of the earliest contributions to the Administration’s catalogue of Kutch’s flora and fauna, to which many ornithologists and naturalists would add, at the invitation of the Maharaos, over the decades that followed.

Maharao Khengarji III created a nursery on the Chadva tank and initiated the first proposal for a specific Conservator of Forest for Kutch. During this time, Chadva was one of 44 rakhals in Kutch – a grass preserve, producing fodder for the Darbari cattle as well as for revenue. Trees growing within rakhals were protected and the Rao took personal interest in planting trees throughout Kutch.

Chadva Rakhal was Khengarji’s favoured shikar ground. He imported Guinea Fowl from Somalia and attempted breeding them there. He was a keen ornithologist who discovered the only known breeding grounds of the flamingo in India, located in the Great Rann of Kutch, and contributed several papers to the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS).

Khengarji III constructed the camp house, along with other structures in the Rakhal, which all suffered the 2001 earthquake terribly. It is the vision of the Trust to restore the building as a nature interpretation centre.

Chadva Rakhal finds ‘special mention’ in India’s famed ornithologist, Salim Ali’s handbook Birds of Kutch, hailed ‘for all practical purposes a wild-life sanctuary’. He commends Maharao Vijayrajji’s and the Yuvraj Madansinhji’s ‘solicitous care’ whose personal interests ‘added considerably to our knowledge of this interesting strip of country’. Tucked away on the ridge, a platform known as Salim Ali’s Perch lies in honour of the ornithologist at the site of his favourite viewing spot, overlooking the Pragsar Lake.

Irrigation was Vijayrajji’s chief concern during his short six-year rule. He constructed 22 dams including the Vijaysagar reservoir which lies south of the Chadva hill range. He also introduced the coucal (crow-pheasant) at Chadva Rakhal, which is now found throughout Kutch.

Vijarajji and Madansinhji contributed various notes on Kutch’s game birds for the JBNHS, while Madansinhji’s youngest brother, Himmatsinhji wrote prolifically throughout his life, most specifically for the Gujarati bird publication Vihang, which helped popularise Kutch as a birding destination.

India’s independence brought about drastic changes for the ruling classes of India, during which, Chadva Rakhal was gifted to the 12-year old Yuvraj Prithvirajsinhji of Kutch, later Maharao Pragmulji III, ‘for his absolute enjoyment and pleasure’.

Maharao Pragmulji III and his wife, Maharani Priti Devi of Kutch shared a love of nature, and oversaw the longterm preservation of Chadva as ‘an area protected for the wellbeing of the forest and all it’s creatures.’ They undertook various projects to sustain the beauty and sanctity of the area including annual reforestation, the creation of Priti Talai, and the maintenance of motorable tracks to facilitate accessibility for pilgrims visiting the ancient Bileshwar Temple deep inside the Rakhal.

Pragmulji III regulated the grazing rights of the Maldhari community in a way that allowed the grasslands to regenerate, enabling wildlife and pastoralism to co-exist.

Kutch was rocked by a devastating earthquake. The Maharao and Maharani opened the Pragsar Lake and Garden to the public, offering the people of the region a ‘breathing space’. It became an immediate destination for nature lovers who valued its pristine wilderness. It’s popularity grew steadily over the following two decades, until the onset of another calamity – the global pandemic – precipitated a new wave of visitors seeking nature and clean air.

The Government of India’s National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) identified Chadva Rakhal as an OECM (Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures) recognising its value in helping India achieve it’s National Biodiversity Targets.

Maharao Pragmulji III and Maharani Priti Devi created the Maharao Pragmulji Nature Conservation Trust for the longterm preservation, sanctity and management of Chadva Rakhal as a nature reserve.

May 2021 witnessed the passing of Maharao Pragmulji III. His new Shakti Sthal Temple, a ‘Tribute of Love’ to his wife, was near completion on the edge of the Rakhal at the time of his demise. The temple was completed and inaugurated by Maharani Priti Devi the following year.

Maharao Pragmulji III

(1991-2021)