Lone crusade to save Nashik's green cover

NASHIK: What began as a lone and quiet journey for Shekhar Gaikwad has today become a mass movement. The low profile nature lover has been fighting for the cause of environment for the past 16 years and is joined by a group of enthusiasts to carry out major plantation works through the city.
Years ago, he was in his garage when it struck him that the city was losing its green cover.He realized that the beautiful tree-lined roads were turning into vast stretches of bare lanes. It was then that he decided to do something to bring back the greenery. Within no time, he was spending hours studying plants and carrying out plantation.
The green crusader, who has a fabrication workshop, has till date planted more than 70,000 trees of indigenous variety. What's more, he takes efforts every day to conserve the green cover. In the initial years, he watered all the plants single-handedly, carrying water in drums from borewells.
He believes that it is better to keep working and doing one's bit rather than wasting productive time in fighting with government officials, that only ends in engaging in bureaucratic wrangle. So, while his counterparts have been battling with the government officials through memorandums, agitations and even court cases besides conserving the nature, Gaikwad has been just practicing what his heart says.
"This also helps keep the mind cool and stable. We can carry out our work without any stress. The goal is after all to conserve the environment," said Gaikwad.
Earlier this year, Gaikwad took 30 college students to water over 200 trees to inculcate the sense of conserving trees. He regularly distributes saplings for free to people in the city and district.
He also planted 3,000 trees along the highway at a distance of 10 feet from the road keeping in mind the possibility of road widening in future. The major achievement has been the plantation of 130 medicinal and native plants in half an acre open plot in Phulsunder Estate off Nashik-Pune Highway. "Medicinal plants are for maintaining ecological balance," said Gaikwad.
It is not just the trees and plants that get his attention. The birds displaced due to tree felling also find a shelter with him. He has distributed more than 11,000 bird nests for free to people. He gets them made from carpenters from the left over wood or buys plywood in wholesale rate from the scrap markets.
"Each nest costs Rs 60 or 65 but I give it for free so that birds have a home. Rampant tree-cutting has rendered birds homeless," he said.
For the past few years, he has been fighting against the use nylon in manja for flying kites and lifting of red mud from Trimbakeshwar.
Last year, he and his friends collected 5,240kg nirmalya and 6,000 idols during Ganesh Festival but instead of handing them over to the civic officials for immersion in unused wells, he handed them over to the sculptors to use it instead of plaster of Paris.
"We have been inspired by the decision of the SP of the Detective Training School, Harish Baijal, for cremating his mother with diesel in order to save wood," says Shekhar.
Presently, he is protesting against the concretization of ghats and has gathered some like-minded people to form a human chain on Saturday.
"Even the politicians did not know about it. Talkuteshwar to Tapovan is 1.2km in length and 20 m in width. The concretization of ghats does not fit into the definition of development. This is the property of the citizens and we are going to protest against it," said Gaikwad.