Preeti Singh Jhala was one of the few women Sarpanches & the youngest Sarpanch in Kota district.
On 17 October 2022, she met with an accident in her iconic jeep while going to her Panchayat, Sarola. She fell from the jeep and came under it. She was taken to the hospital where she was declared dead.
Preeti was elected Sarpanch of Sarola Gram Panchayat of Kota district in 2020. She belonged to the Rajput family of Kunadi.
Education & Interests
Jhala was an alumina of Mayo College Girls’ School in Ajmer. She graduated from the University of Rajasthan and later did an MBA from R.A. Poddar Institute of Management, Jaipur.
Preeti loved horse riding and while at school won medals in the same. Animals, particularly dogs and horses, were her favorites.
Preeti also tried her hand at business before entering into politics. She started a design label by the name ‘Aaruna’ where she sold Kota Doria designer sarees to people in other parts of the country.
Preeti was well educated, smart and intelligent. She could have pursued any career or interest, but she decided to devote herself to serve people.
Work as a Sarpanch
After becoming the Sarpanch, in an interview she shared a glimpse of her dream. She said, “I want to develop Sarola as a model gram panchayat and work for women empowerment and healthcare”.
The first thing she did after becoming Sarpanch was solve the problem of drinking water in the villages of her panchayat.
She was very active as a Sarpanch. People would come up to her with all kinds of problems and she would try everything she could to solve them.
She was available to people in her gram panchayat and would talk to them. People of Sarola, especially kids, loved her. She couldn’t see injustice and would always stand up against it.
Her Goal – Power to Women
Preeti was particularly interested in creating more opportunities for women. She took many initiatives, be it organizing workshops on Menstrual Health in her panchayat or encouraging parents to educate their girls.
She had plans to facilitate career guidance to the students of the gram panchayat and also to ban liquor.
Clearly, she had a lot of life and work left within herself for the world. It’s tragic she is no more.
The lives she has touched upon, they will continue to be inspired by her spirit. May she be at peace wherever she is.