Their mission: Greening open spaces in city

Just as human body, habitations too need green spaces which act as lungs to help them breathe. More open spaces mean more healthy environments. Preserving them has become far more important than ever. A group of youth under the umbrella of Swetcha is spreading out in search of lung spaces and when they find one, they implore owners to let them plant saplings there.

Speaking to The Hans India, Seshu Ratnala, founder of Swetcha, said, "Adverse phenomena in form of climate change, global warming, irregular monsoons, drought etc is happening because of loss of green cover. To save the mother earth, our NGO has embarked on a plantation drive. With a mission to plant 10,00,000 saplings in a decade in different states, in 2019 we launched the drive in the city and also in other states including Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka."

The NGO has come up with a novel concept. Its members have started visiting various areas in the city and educating women and motivative them to use menstrual cups. When a woman purchases a cup, on her behalf a sapling is planted.

There are open plots lying empty or covered with garbage in colonies, which can be put to good use by raising plants. The NGO members inspected some open plots. "If it is a government land, we take the permission of GHMC. In collaboration with I Save Nature foundation, we planted 1,200 saplings in areas such as Kukatpally and other outskirts of Hyderabad," Seshu Ratnala said.

The NGO now wants to rope in likeminded people and schoolchildren to join its drive. It is encouraged by the response of people even during Covid times to join hands with it in turning open plots into green spaces.