Mangaluru: Jeeth Milan Roche, a hard-working activist of the National Environment Care Foundation (NECF) taken up the responsibility of greening the surroundings of the Pacchanady dumping yard with different species of trees.
It is a known fact that the Pachanady dumping yard has been in the news after a landslide occurred there, last year. After this, over 25 families, who are residing around Mandara and Pachanady areas were forced to evacuate from the place. Their farmland also fell victim to the landslide and there is the foul smell emanating from the area now. Some parts of the dumping yard are close to collapse. There are vacant patches too in which Jeeth has opted to plant saplings.
Jeeth keeps planting the saplings all the 365 days of the year as he is a true environmentalist. He started planting saplings in 2004. Initially, he had to invest money himself to buy the plants. But, after observing the zeal of Jeeth to conserve nature, the forest department has come forward to provide him different species of saplings after 2008.
Initially, he planted saplings on the roadside to develop tree cover for the concreted roads. But, the road widening of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) and local administration did not encourage him or nurture the plants. The saplings he planted were sacrificed at the altar of road work. Discouraged, he started to plant saplings at other public places.
Later, Jeeth also took to planting saplings at the graveyards of the city. Different species of fruit-bearing trees were planted at different graveyards in and around the city. A total of 22 graveyards have received his green touch.
Not only planting saplings, but he also maintains the saplings. His son and his son’s friends help him out in planting the saplings digging the pits moving the saplings around. The Forest department also extends its helping hand towards his noble work.
speaking to Newskarnataka.com Jeeth Milan Roche said that over 1570 saplings have been planted at the Pachanady dumping yard and its surroundings. “The plan is to plant over 6000 different species of saplings at the available spaces of Pachanady dumping yard. If these saplings would grow as per our expectations, the whole area will wear a different look and the trees will to a large extent contain the foul smell emanating from the dumping yard,” Jeeth says with utmost confidence.
