ANI
07 Mar 2021, 05:55 GMT+10
Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 7 (ANI): Popularly known as the "tree man of Coimbatore", Marimuthu Yoganathan, a bus conductor-cum-environmental activist on Saturday said his dream is not to get awards but "to create more Yoganathans across India".
Yoganathan while speaking to ANI said, "Getting awards is not my dream or aim. My dream is to create more Yoganathans like me across India."Yoganathan, who has reportedly planted more than four lakh saplings across Tamil Nadu, is a conductor by profession with the State Transport Corporation.
Yoganathan says he faced several hardships in his journey towards the environment.
Reportedly, Yoganathan spends 40 per cent of his salary to buy seeds and plant saplings on a land donated to him by a Non-resident Indian from the United States who saw his work.
A few days ago government officials enquired from me about a Padma Sri but I don't know why my name was not listed. Though my intention is not to get any award. If I get such awards, more people will call me to plant trees across other states too. This will fulfil my dreams," said Yoganathan.
Yoganathan who was conferred the Eco Warrior Award by the Indian government, said, "My request to have the award sent to me by post was declined. I was concerned about the train fare, the days taken for my leave, and accommodation costs in New Delhi. But, I'm glad I received the award in person from none other than the Vice President of the country."He also said, "Though I am working for this noble cause, I have faced many transfers from the transport authorities.""Now my aim is to grow five trees in a house (fruit bearing trees). But so far there has been no support either from the state government nor the central government," he added.
Recently, Yoganathan garnered appreciation for his work on social media.
A few days ago, a social media user with Twitter handle by the name @JainMaggii shared a picture of the bus conductor holding a sapling and wrote, "Marimuthu Yoganathan, a bus conductor who has planted over 3 lakh saplings in the last 30 years using his own money. Meet the 'real environmentalist'!"Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also replied to the tweet dated March 5, 2021 and said, "Inspiration on my birthday. Thank you for sharing."A known eco activist, Yoganathan has been awarded "Eco Warrior" award by Vice-President of India, 'Unsung Hero' award by wildlife film-maker Mike Pandey and film actor John Abraham in "Timberland" function held in Delhi.
Yoganathan visited around 3,743 universities, colleges, schools and industries and took classes to raise environmental awareness.
He has also been conferred with the tiltle 'Sutru Suzal Seyal Veerar' by the Tamil Nadu Government. (ANI)
Get a daily dose of Illinois Intelligencer news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Illinois Intelligencer.
More InformationWashington [US], April 19 (ANI): A new study found that while surgery to correct congenital heart disease (CHD) within 10 ...
Lucas Cavallini's goal early in the second half was the only one of the night in the season opener between ...
Spain's Alex Palou held off former Indy 500 winners Will Power of Australia and Scott Dixon of New Zealand to ...
Sweeps were the theme of the day Sunday as Evil Geniuses and Quincy Crew both proved victorious in the final ...
Twenty-one years and one day after Stewart Cink won for the first time at Harbour Town Golf Links, the two-time ...
SAMARRA, IRAQ - Five rockets targeted an Iraqi airbase hosting U.S. soldiers Sunday, wounding two foreign contractors and three Iraqi ...
VATICAN CITY - Following the one-year lockdown, Pope Francis greeted Catholics in St. Peter's Square for his traditional Sunday noon ...
ATLANTA, Georgia: As Covid-19 cases again increase in states such as Michigan and Minnesota, officials have voiced concern about children ...
OTTAWA, Canada: A Canadian appeals court has upheld a Canada-U.S. agreement to turn back asylum seekers.The ruling overturned a Canadian ...
BURBANK, California: Disneyland is set to reopen on April 30 and tickets are now being sold for the first time ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: Committees of the European Parliament handling relations with Britain have approved the EU-UK post-Brexit trade and cooperation deal, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: All U.S. government agencies have been directed to install patches on Microsoft software to prevent hacking into emails.The ...