The drive up the Karighatta Hill located on the banks of the Cauvery at Srirangapatna can be energy sapping during summer, given the searing heat in the region.
But Ramesh of Naguvanahalli Chandagalu village is unfazed as he balances two 20-litre cans of water on his shoulders and treks up the hill watering the plants along the way. This is his mission to green the hill and grow more trees in the arid region.
A task he has taken upon himself since 2012, Mr. Ramesh, who lives in Srirangapatna and, ironically, distributes mineral water to earn a living, spends a portion of his earnings on tree plantation and ensures adequate water to keep the saplings alive. He has been doing this since the summer of 2012, when a man-made fire devastated large tracts of vegetation at Karighatta.
“I used to visit the temple atop Karighatta every Saturday and enjoy the scenic beauty and the greenery all around. But I was crestfallen when a fire consumed the forest and reduced it to cinders. It was a man-made fire and left me aghast that people could be so insensitive and apathetic towards forests. Since then I have taken it upon myself to plant trees and restore the greenery of the hill,” recalled Mr. Ramesh.
Initially, his efforts were frowned upon by the locals but Mr. Ramesh persisted and his labour is paying dividends and locals aver that the tree cover at Karighatta has increased.
Though not conventionally educated about environment, Mr. Ramesh, who dropped out without completing BA, acquired adequate information from various sources and went about planting saplings of indigenous varieties of plants that are fruit-bearing. But the challenge was to maintain them till they matured. So Mr. Ramesh decided to water the plants himself twice or thrice a week between December and May when there is little to no rainfall. For this, he thought upon a unique idea.
“Tourists who come to Karighatta discard drinking water bottles that are strewn all over. I decided to put the waste plastic bottles for better use,” said Mr. Ramesh. The empty bottles are filled with water, their cap screwed tight, turned upside down and tied to the pole supporting the sapling and this acts like a drip irrigation system.
“I drill a pinhole to ensure a leak of one drop of water every two seconds. I fill up the water bottles in the evening and the water drips all through the night,’’ said Mr. Ramesh who has so far planted more than 3,000 saplings. “I don’t plant more than 300 saplings every year as it is beyond my capacity to ensure water for all of them. But whatever I do, I try to ensure their survival,’’ he explained.
At least 80% of the saplings have survived and there are patches of greenery in places that were otherwise bald patches of land at Karighatta. Mr. Ramesh is supported by his wife, Anupama, in the afforestation mission. Inspired by his deeds, about 20 local school students have constituted a ‘Hasiru Sena’ (green army) to help Mr. Ramesh.
