Elderly Woman Breaks Down As Peepal Tree She Raised For 20 Years Is Cut Down; Heartbreaking Video Goes Viral

A heartbreaking video from Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district has captured the internet’s attention, showing an elderly woman breaking down beside the stump of a Peepal tree she had nurtured for 20 years before it was cut down. The emotional clip has gone viral, leaving viewers and villagers alike devastated.In the footage, the woman can be seen crying uncontrollably near the freshly felled tree. Locals revealed that she treated the Peepal tree as her own child — watering it daily, worshipping it, and considering it part of her faith. When it was chopped down, she reportedly clung to its remains in anguish as others around her grew teary-eyed.The video has been widely circulated across social media platforms. BJP MP Kiren Rijiju also reposted

the clip on X, writing, “This is such heart-wrenching scene! 𝐀𝐧 𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲- 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝟐𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧. I'm told this occurred in the State of Chhattisgarh.”

Residents said the woman’s sorrow represented the emotions of the entire community. “She cared for that tree like her own son. We all felt the same connection. Watching her cry broke our hearts,” villager Suresh Kumar Tiwari told India Today.Former sarpanch Sanjay Singh echoed the sentiment, saying, “This was not just a tree; it was a symbol of faith and the village’s devotion. Cutting it down was an emotional blow for everyone,'' as quoted by India Today. In response to the incident, villagers have since planted a new Peepal tree at the same location and vowed to protect it. The elderly woman, who had lovingly cared for the original tree for two decades, was among the first to offer prayers to the new sapling, India Today reported.