After cyclone Vardah, K. Umapathy, a resident of Mudichur, established Green Earth, a voluntary organisation dedicated to the twin goals of tree plantation and promoting awareness about the benefits of having certain trees around.
In the first phase of its mission to restore green cover lost to Vardah, Green Earth planted around 50 native tree saplings with tree guards on the campus of Jaigopal Garodiya National Higher Secondary School, East Tambaram, where in fact the NGO was inaugurated.
Recently, as part of the second phase of the mission, the NGO planted more than 100 native tree saplings on the premises of the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram Sanatorium. The exercise was christened ‘Retrieve Green Initiative’.
Over 200 trees on the hospital premises had been uprooted by Vardah. The saplings will be maintained by the staff at the Hospital.
“We are planning to plant more saplings on the premises of the hospital for the benefit of patients,” said Umapath, who is secretary of Green Earth Foundation.
Soon, the Foundation, will plant saplings with tree guards on the eastern and western sides of the Southern Railway playground and at the entrance of Tambaram Railway Station (opposite Madras Christian College), followed by tree plantation drive on the Madras Christian College Campus School, East Tambaram.
Umapathy, said, “The drive to restore the green cover blown away by Vardah will be first carried out in the districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur and then in all the other districts of Tamil Nadu. We (Green Earth Foundation) will soon form a ‘Green Squad’ a voluntary wing of the NGO, consisting of youngsters. The squad will focus on planting trees with tree guards in public places and residential localities across the city.” Dr. R. Sridhar, superintendent, Dr. V. Vinod Kumar, deputy superintendent, and Dr. S. Kumar, resident medical officer, Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram Sanatorium, and P. Rajasekaran, chairman, Green Earth Foundation, were present at the saplings planting programme.
