Saying dhanyavad with saplings of gratitude

When the man in Indian Rotary who is always known for his hatke thinking, district governor nominee (RID 3192) Ravishankar Dakoju, who shook the Rotary world a few years ago by pledging to donate ₹100 crore to The Rotary Foundation, wanted to make a distinct contribution to the environment, he thought big. He told his close friend in Rotary, who shares his passion for greening the earth, Neil Joseph, co-trustee of the Rotary Environment Foundation, set up by Dakoju, where he himself, RI director-elect K P Nagesh and PDG Suresh Hari are fellow trustees, that he wanted to plant 1,00,000 trees through a project named Dakoju Dhanyavad. To be executed by the Paola and Ravishankar Dakoju Foundation, the objective of this project is to “thank Mother Nature for all her benevolence towards me,” he says.

But to plan and execute such a mega project, which will cost at least ₹1 crore, takes time, “but I didn’t want to miss the monsoon which was fast approaching. The places we had decided on were Goa and Sindhudurg, and almost in desperation both of us went to consult a man who I admire so much in Rotary, former president of RC Kudal Gajanan Kandelgaonkar. He is a man of few words, but a great organiser and in no time he had planned a wonderful project to plant 11,000 trees in the first phase in three places in Sindhudurg district, a part of the Western Ghats and where RC Kudal is located.”

On July 3, the first event, where fruit-bearing and other trees which will be useful to the local community… such as kokum, cashewnut, mango, neem, jackfruit and coconut… were planted, was held at a school in Madgaon, and the second at another school in Pandur, both in Sindhudurg district. Here schoolchildren, teachers and the local people, along with PDG Gaurish Dhond, RC Kudal president Sanjay Kesare, Kandelgaonkar and past assistant governor Rajan Bhobate participated.

“The arrangements, done in such a short time by RC Kudal, were perfect and the atmosphere was festive with enthusiastic schoolchildren’s excited chatter filling the air,” recalls Dakoju. PDG Dhond complimented RC Kudal’s initiative and hard work. Dakoju adds, “At this event, I was very impressed to note the concern and worry expressed by people of all ages — from the schoolchildren to the elderly in the community — about the ill-effects of global warming, which we call ‘Polio of the planet’. As a symbolic gesture, some kokum trees were planted at the Shivaji English School premises at Pandur and other saplings were distributed.”

Next, the Rotarians moved to a totally rural setting in Kerawade, “which is an interior rural area with predominantly mud roads and lush greenery. This area is a part of the famed Sahyadri range of the Western Ghats, and the people who participated were poor and marginalised farmers. The simple, but piping hot, delicious meal that was prepared and served to us will be remembered by all of us for a long time.”

On July 19, once again 5,000 more trees were planted in this region, as part of the project and on July 28, an additional 25,000 trees will be planted. This time, the tree planting will coincide with the ‘Goa Rain Run,’ organised by RC Goa Porvorim.

Dakoju says he hopes that this mega tree-planting initiative to green Mother Earth will have a spin-off effect and many other Rotary clubs will take up this project in a big way. “I am happy to say that recently, when along with RI director Raju Subramanian, I attended the installation of RID 3170 DG Sharad Pai, the president of RC Belgaum, Suhas Chandak (owner of Vega Helmets) took an oath to plant one lakh trees during his tenure as club president. Incidentally, he is also becoming an AKS member.”

RC Agra plants 150 saplings

In another initiative, RC Agra, RID 3110, kicked off its annual monsoon plantation drive by planting 150 saplings of neem, guava, jamun, champa and gulmohar trees. Reiterating the club’s commitment to community service and environmental conservation, club president Namrata Panicker said this plantation programme was a significant step towards its work for a greener Agra, and ultimately a greener planet.