This bus conductor from Coimbatore has been giving back to the environment in the most wonderful way for over 28 years. He has planted more than 3 lakh saplings across 32 of Tamil Nadu’s districts.
49-year-old M Yoganathan has a very humble job and obviously a lot of personal things to take care of. Yet, he is doing more than most people in giving back to the environment.
M Yoganathan, a bus conductor from Coimbatore, has single-handedly planted more than 38,000 trees in 28 years using his own modest income.👍 pic.twitter.com/BVXgSXMwb6
— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) October 11, 2017
Clearly his efforts are being lauded on social media.
This kind of effort deserves Padma Award @PMOIndia @suhelseth
— kirit v shah (@KiritvshahV) October 11, 2017
Salute to the great hearted man and his great service to mother earth ..
— Natul .b.jain (@Natuljain2B) October 11, 2017
He has been fighting against the cutting of trees for firewood since 1987. He told The News Minute:
On my weekly off, Monday, I go plant trees in all educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities.
In educational institutions, whenever a tree is planted by a student, Yoganathan names the tree after the child inspiring the child to take care of the sapling as his/her sibling. He has visited over 3,000 schools across the state to organise plantation drives and environmental awareness programmes.
Over the years, Yoganathan has received many awards such as the “Eco-Warrior Award” and a State Environment Department Award in 2008, a CNN-IBN Real Heroes Award in 2011 and a Periyar Award in 2015.
However, his journey has been really difficult. According to reports, he has had several transfers and receives zero support from the government. The support of his wife and children keep him going.
He is working towards a really noble cause despite his limited means. If this doesn’t get you to care for the environment, then we don’t know what will!
