Jaipur:
Two female sarpanches from Rajasthan will answer tough questions tonight – not from the people, but from megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
Chhavi Rajawat is sarpanch of Soda village near Jaipur and Neeru Yadav holds the post of Lambi Ahir village in Jhunjhunu district. The two had recently shot for an episode of the popular quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati. The episode airs tonight.
The two women sarpanches enjoy a large following on social media for their dynamic and out-of-the-box approaches to rural development.
Ms. Rajawat is a graduate of the prestigious Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi. She has an MBA and worked for a company before deciding to return to her roots and work there.
The 46-year-old has been a sarpanch for a decade and was reportedly the youngest village head when she was elected. She is not affiliated with any party because polls in rural areas are not conducted along party lines.
Mrs. Yadav is better known as “hockey wali sarpanch” for her initiative to form a girls’ hockey team in the village. According to reports, she had spent two years of her salary setting up and equipping the team.
She is credited with taking several other steps to improve the quality of life in Jhunjhunu village. To make the village plastic-free, she set up a bartan bank, which rented out steel utensils at nominal rates.