Hubballi’s Green Man has a special gift for your birthday

HUBBALLI: Meeting Balachandra Danganavar will leave a lasting impression on anybody and you might also receive a special gift on your next birthday.The 42-year-old from Hubballi is on a mission to spread awareness on the environment and conservation in the Hubballi-Dharwad region for the past two years. And as part of his awareness campaign, he has been motivating residents to grow more trees, by presenting them hibiscus plants on their birthdays, anniversaries, and to celebrate achievements.

To date, Danganavar has distributed around 1,000 plants. He purchases the plants from a nursery at his own expense. “It is my small work to bring positive changes in the society,” he says.So how does Danganavar remember all the birthdays and anniversaries? He has a habit of keeping a diary, where he takes down the dates of special occasions of people he meets. He also makes it a point to check the birthdays of his friends on social media and gifts them a sapling in person. In several instances, he has even distributed saplings to unknown people.

“Mother Earth is facing severe threat from man’s greed. The only way to save her is to make the Earth green again. I am doing my bit to enhance the greenery with few like-minded friends Chandrashekhar Yerimaniu, Suresh Chindi, Channu Devaki, Mahantesh Karadi, Raju Rajolo and Mahantesh Kori. They help me keep track of birthdays and anniversaries and we go as a team to gift them the plant,” he adds.

As much as he is a nature lover, Danganavar is also a fitness enthusiast. He established the Go Green Peddlers organisation to promote cycling in the twin cities, which he has been successfully doing over the past two years. “Cycling is the best vehicle to commute as it has zero emission and is good form of exercise,” says Danganavar. The motto for Go Green Peddlers is ‘Say no to Co2 (carbon dioxide) and yes to C2O (Cycle 2 Office).“Cycling is fun and it is a solution to many issues cities are facing today, like traffic, lack of parking spaces, pollution. Go Green pedallers are creating and encourage youngsters to take up cycling,” he says.