One-man army on a ‘green’ mission

Maheswarappa is campaigning against use of plastic flags

G. Maheswarappa campaigning against use of plastic flags.

An environmentally conscious resident has decided to take it upon himself to spread awareness against the use of plastic in the city.

G. Maheswarappa, an activist, has been going round the city on his cycle holding placards that read ‘Ban the plastic flags, Save Environment’ for the past few days. He urged the people to use tricolours made of khadi and said, “People should start to reuse and recycle the flags instead of buying one-time plastic flags that harm the environment.”

An oustee

Mr. Maheswarappa was a victim of the Srisailam dam. The village where he was originally from got submerged after the dam was constructed. He says that the fact that his village was submerged made him turn into an environment activist. “I understood the environmental impact of Srisailam dam, where numerous acres of land have been submerged,” he added.

Narrating his tale, Mr. Maheswarappa said he had never owned a vehicle in his life. “I have not even purchased a litre of petrol. I use my cycle to go everywhere,” he added. “It is important to create awareness among the people on environmental issues,” he added.

The activist has also taken up numerous environmental activities and has promoted Swachh Bharath movement as well as various water conservation programmes launched by the government. He has been seen donning various outfits — as a farmer, a tree and a water drop — to create awareness on various issues.

On Republic Day, Mr. Maheswarappa has decided to appear as a farmer, to create awareness among the people about farmers.