M. Saravanan and Prem Ananth don’t own houses in Perungudi, but that has not kept them from developing a sense of ownership about the locality.
The evidence is to be found on most of the streets of Perungudi where they are making a ‘green’ mark.
Their individual stories interest at many points: One of them being that both of them had earlier lived in houses with spacious gardens to go with them.
When they moved to Perungudi as tenants, they were unsuccessful in finding houses that could give them the same green experience, and they soon started missing their old gardens.
It is two years since M. Saravanan moved to Chennai from Kanyakumari and lives in a rented house at Kamarajar Nagar in Perungudi. Prem Anand moved to Perungudi from Perambur in 2014.
However, they found a way around the problem and how!
They decided to make the streets of Perungudi their garden.
Saravan plants tree saplings across Perungudi. Besides planting saplings, Prem Anand tends to the trees planted by Greater Chennai Corporation.
“In the past two years, I have planted around 100 tree saplings in various streets of Perungudi. Seventy of them have survived,” says Saravanan, a resident of Kamaraj Nagar First Cross Street. He points out that he also ensures the soil around the saplings are enriched.
Their individual initiatives received a fillip when they joined Perungudi Lake Area Neighbourhood Environmental Transformation Association ( PLANET), a forum of citizens committed to environment conservation.
Through PLANET, they have carried out many green initiatives.
PLANET member P. Sajeevan, a long-time resident of Kamarajar Nagar, joins them in these greening exercise.
A saplings bank
“During monsoon, we walk around the colony and collect saplings that have sprouted as a result of grown trees in various streets and grow them in bags. We also make seeds balls,” says Sajeevan.
They maintain around 200 tree saplings at a vacant plot in Sixth Cross Street at Kamarajar Nagar.
“It is a private property. With the consent of the owner, we have kept the saplings there. We plant them in streets and also give them to educational institutions, gated communities and groups committed to environment conservation,” says Prem, a resident of Kamaraj Nagar Third Cross Street.
Among tree species that the group has are: pungai, peepal, naaval, poo maruthu, banyan, yaanai kundumani, sara kondrai, poo maruthu, kalyana murungai, gulmohar, Indian rosewood, almond, bird cherry, illupai, poovarasu, kadal poovarasu, neer maruthu, African tulip, magizham, tree jasmine, ven thekku, Indian ash tree, pavazha malli, copper-pod and vasantha rani.
“Some of the other trees are pasu munnai and veppalai. They are flowering and fruit-bearing trees and therefore attract butterflies, bees and wasps. Last week, we planted 500 seeds of palm trees around the bunds of the Perungudi lake. We did it in commemoration of Gandhi Jayanthi. The seeds were given by employees of Beroe Inc who were on a trip to Thiruvannamalai. The employees of the company also joined us during the planting drive.,” says Prem.
The members also have a plan to develop a park where official trees of all Indian States and Union Territories will be planted.
Says Prem, “This is a dream project for our locality. The challenge lies in identifying the space necessary for such a grand exercise.”
