Chilukuri Srinivasa Rao, a government primary school teacher at Kadiyam in East Godavari district, has been tirelessly promoting greenery by planting saplings for over two decades. Mr. Srinivasa Rao is also motivating others to take up the cause. He says he is very upset when people fell trees.

This teacher bought a Tata Nano car to which he had attached a small tray to accommodate some saplings, crowbar, spade and water can. Wherever he spots a stretch without trees, he stops by and plants one. He urges people nearby to water them.

“I use to get plants with the support of Palla Venkanna nursery and the Forest Department and planted them in several schools in the district under ‘Badi Thota’ programme. I use to spend 20% of my salary to purchase saplings and for its protection every year. This became a habit for me,” he added.

Many awards

Mr. Rao got many awards and rewards from various quarters. He says receiving ‘Paryavarana Mithra’ puraskaram during the International Bio-Diversity meet in Hyderabad in 2012 from former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was his memorable moment. He has also received an award from the State Biodiversity Council for his unrelenting efforts to improve green cover. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu honoured him with Ugadi puruskaram.

Family support

His wife and two sons also help him. On Sundays and vacation days, his family along with pet dog ‘Mythri’ moved around in the car to plant saplings.

“We trained Mythri to dig one foot to plant a sapling,” he said. Mr. Srinivasa Rao also distributes saplings at functions. His writings on environment were made part of syllabi for IV Class students of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Besides penning stories and poems stressing the need for planting more saplings, he took part in many conferences, rallies and workshops. He wrote about 40 articles in A.P. government’s official magazine `Andhra Pradesh’ on biodiversity.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by B.V.S Bhaskar / Kadiyam (East Godavari) / April 26th, 2018