by Gayatri Nair

Independence Day is not just another holiday for software engineer Dheeraj Kumar M. He wants to celebrate it by planting 300 saplings and restore some green cover in Bangalore. On Saturday, Kumar along with volunteers, will plant 100 saplings in Marathalli and another 200 in and around HMT Layout. Kumar said, “Trees are being felled to make roads and other infrastructure. The City has almost lost the Garden City tag. Hence, I want to compensate by planting more saplings.”

This is not the first time he’s planting saplings. On July 11, he planted about 500 saplings in the Vishwa Santhi Ashram in Nelamangala. Kumar added, “There are many benefits of planting saplings. It strengthens the soil and obviously reduces pollution. And what better way to celebrate Independence Day.”

Joining Forces

Saturday’s spot for planting saplings was recommended to Kumar by his colleague Apoorv Jain, who lives in the apartment complex SJR Spencer on Varthur Road, Marathalli.

The place chosen is a small plot of land behind the apartment complex. Planting is taking place from 8 am with the children of families living in the apartments taking part.

“Later when the children will play in the garden they will see the plants and remember to water them,” added Kumar. Residents of the apartments are extremely supportive of this initiative.

All the saplings for Saturday’s planting are provided for free by Isha Foundation, said M Rajesh Kumar, a software engineer who works with it.

Dheeraj has also started a blog www.grow-trees.blogspot.com to create more awareness about planting.

A Crusader for a Safe Environment

He has a vision and a mission. He is V Shankar, who organized a project last Tuesday on the ‘Importance of cleanliness in daily life,’ with the slogan ‘Small actions make a big difference.’ And for this project he took support from the students of Chinmaya Vidyalaya in Indiranagar.

Explaining the idea behind the project, Shankar said that most people dump the garbage on the road, where people walk, or on vacant sites; they do not put it into the designated bins, nor do they hand over it to the contractors employed by the corporation. Obviously, this leads to the pollution of the environment, affecting the health of all living beings, mainly to children and weak persons.

Again, many people just dispose of food particles, napkins and diapers in the toilet and flush them out, without realizing that this causes blockage of drainage pipes, making dirty water to ooze from manholes. This also results in mix-up of stagnant water with the well or borewell water, leading to serious health problems.

All this leads to a ‘freeze situation’ as he called it: Absence of attendance by children in school due to sickness; foul smell in the atmosphere; huge civic expenses on pipeline and drainage repairs. And, of course, loss of industrial productivity.

Shopkeepers these days sell their goods wrapped in plastic bags which are not biodegradable. He suggested that instead people should carry their shopping items in their own cloth or jute bags and give plastic covers back to the supermarket for recycling. “The public must discourage the use of plastic bags,” he asserted.

Finally, roads and surrounding areas are made dirty those who take their pets out for walk. This also pollutes the atmosphere. Shankar said that he wants to address these problems to all concerned. They should help make the streets of our city the best and not the worst. “Small actions by each one of us can make a huge difference in the whole society,” he said.

“Stop dumping garbage on the road; instead put it in the designated bins. Avoid putting food waste, napkins, diapers, etc.  in the toilet. Stop using plastic bags. Take your pets for a walk to a place that does not cause nuisance to others,” he advises to the residents and the public.

Principal Rema Nandakumar  of Chinmaya Vidyalaya gave an introductory speech, in which she emphasized the need for safe environment. She told the audience, “Please support the cause; stand for the community and take action, however small, right now for a healthy life, fresh air, reduced pollution and safe environment.”

Rural connect

By Niveditha Rao, Bengaluru

Language binds people together, but the lack of it definitely creates a rift and this is evident in the bridge between students in rural areas and city kids. While the city kids speak in English fluently, rural kids struggle to learn the basics. When they come to the city, they are alienated from the rest of the world and the adjustment period is harsh. This is what Prabhakar K., a software engineer from Tamil Nadu went through when he joined Cisco.

“I am from a non-English background and the first few years were a struggle for me here as I had to learn the language and fit in with my peers. This is what prompted me to start English in Paddy Field. A group of my friends have volunteered and we go to government schools and teach kids English. The purpose here is to educate them with a tool that can help them communicate better. I want to provide that connect between rural areas and the city and English is the key. With this exposure, I aim to inculcate growth of rural languages too. Local language medium students learn local language well but because of poor quality English lessons, they struggle. Imagine when a Local language medium student is competent in English and knows Local language as well. Is he not better than those English medium students who don’t even know their mother tongue?” asks Prabhakar.

Prabhakar wants to keep these English lessons like a sports period. “There will be on exams, no attendance and no compulsion. The course will contain videos, stories, activities and audios, all in all, a fun-filled activity. There will be a permanent structure or system in all the schools to continue this fun forever. Students and teachers will be supporting themselves after the completion of this project. Sutdents, who go out of the school, will support back thi in their school. We are looking for volunteers who are adept at the local languages and English to teach these kids, along with visual designers who can design audio and visual content for the presentations,” says Prabhakar. Those interested can contact him at admin@extra-extraordinary.com.