‘PARKS, NATURAL RESERVOIRS ARE MODERNDAY TEMPLES’
LUCKNOW: The 79-year-old spunky environmentalist Prabha Chaturvedi doesn’t belive in planting trees on World Environment Day.
“We (she and her associates) don’t work towards the cause of a better environment just for the sake of it. That is why we don’t believe in ceremoniously planting trees on one particular day. We plant them just before the monsoon season,” said the president of Exnora Lucknow, a group that works for conserving the environment. Along with members of the Paper Mill Colony Ladies’ Association and Exnora Lucknow, Prabha works at various levels to help protect the nature. She is especially credited for the renovation and maintenance of the parks in Paper Mill Colony. “We started 25 years ago, in 1994. The Paper Mill Colony was constructed in 1960 by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), and as part of it, five to six parks were also created. However, 30 years later, the parks were in a terrible condition,” recalled Prabha, while narrating the beginnings of her journey as a committed environmentalist.
“They weren’t parks at all. There was rubble all over the place, a lot of filth and garbage. People used to climb the walls of the parks and some also used them for marriages.” Prabha said, adding that unable to accept the mismanagement, she decided to form a group of the colony’s women to work on the problem. “Through public cooperation, we were able to bring about an appreciable change in the condition of the Akshay Barman Park here. Following that success, more women of the colony joined us and all the parks in this area started improving slowly,” she said.
Prabha also holds environment awareness sessions in schools. “We have covered almost all schools in the city. It is important to educate the coming generations about conserving the environment, as it is the children who will have to take care of the resources in future. I leave no opportunity to talk to children about environment,” said Prabha.
Her dedication to the cause is evident by how she compares parks to temples. “These parks and natural reservoirs are modern-day temples. Saving them is the biggest prayer one can offer, the biggest religion one can follow,” she said.