THE ECOWARRIORS CONTINUE TO FIGHT FORAGREENERCITY
Greenminded Delhiites say it’s not an easy feat to strive for a better environment, but the challenges add sweetness to the struggle
Though Earth Day is celebrated, once a year, on April 22, the Capital has a few eco-warriors who work relentlessly 365 days to make this city a little more liveable. The deteriorating condition of the environment of the National Capital Region has made their task tougher. But, the larger cause to keep the earth fit to live in for future generations is what keeps them going.
“It’s challenging to keep working towards it because many of these are lost battles,” says Vimlendu Jha, founder of Swechha, a Delhi-based NGO. Jha, who has been working for two decades now to save the Yamuna river, says that it gets frustrating at some point of time. “On side we are planting trees and on the other, they get cut down or something else in the name of development. It does frustrate people like us who really put in so much energy. Sometimes we also know from the start that we are not going to achieve it, or it’s going to be really difficult. Therefore the journey becomes challenging. But that doesn’t mean one has to give up because that’s the reality — you have to keep fighting because there’s no other choice. Sometimes the process also is the end,” he adds.
However, there are some environmentalists, who in order to continue the battle, device new methods. For instance, Deepak Ramesh Gaur — Tree Man of Gurgaon — whose initiative, Gift a Tree Campaign that started in 2012 will continue till he completes his target of one billion trees. The 42-year-old from Hisar asks a pertinent question: “What are we leaving for our future generations? Why get masks from Korea to fight pollution? Why not provide natural oxygen cylinders — I mean trees! Today, on Earth Day, I’m going to gift a plant to a few RWA presidents and also pledge to take care of them. I will visit them, interact with kids of their locality, and explain the importance of planting more trees. When I plant a tree in any institution now, I go back after a year to celebrate its birthday. So, round the year they feel the need to take care of it. They think, ped ka dhyan rakhlo, Tree Man aayega birthday manane. ”
The work of green-warriors also inspires general public to care for the environment. “During our Run to Clean initiative in CP last year, when people saw us clearing rubbish from streets, some elderly blessed us and some youngsters joined the drive,” says Vishal Sethi, director of Keep India Beautiful, an NGO, which organises marathons. Here people from different age groups participate to watch a street play on cleanliness, indulge in some basic warmup exercises and run to pickup garbage in biodegradable bags. “Fit people can help conserve the environment better. So, we have introduced workout as part of the initiative. Our motto is to not run away from our responsibilities. We try to make people understand the relevance of cleanliness, give them a platform to work towards it, and also explain them how to do it. If each one of us does our bit, our environment will definitely benefit a lot,” he says.
It’s challenging to keep working towards it because many of these are lost battles VIMLENDU JHA FOUNDER OF SWECHHA, NGO