Bratati Baral,OP
Himanshu Sekhar Nayak, has a mission: He plants trees, shrubs and medicinal plants wherever he can to green the environment. Born and brought up in a farmer’s family at Gomundia in the Krushnaprasad block of Puri district, Himanshu has weathered many a storm in his life. Now a senior manager in a reputed private bank, he saves part of his earnings for plants. He has started a plantation mission with the theme ‘Green Parikuda.’ Till now, he has planted 33,467 saplings in his locality.
“After college, my father expressed his inability to fund my higher studies,” says Himanshu. “So I left home in search of a job. I got a job as a junior bank executive with a salary of Rs 3,000 per month. I worked hard and now, I am in a good position. During my difficult days, I decided to serve society and spend part of my salary for the betterment of the society.”
“Initially, I visited orphanages to spend time with orphan kids whenever I got time. I also attended anniversaries, New Year celebrations, Saraswati and Ganesh pujas. I spent part of my earnings for the children instead of wasting the money at parties and picnics,” he adds.
About his “green” activities, Himanshu says, “In July 2015, I visited the Kalinga Ashram where I met the ashram president, Ramesh Panda. l asked him to suggest an idea which would bring me real happiness in life. He advised me to plant trees wherever I can, because plant life is in real danger today. You get real happiness when you see plants growing. I started a plantation in my village with the help of my family and villagers. I bought plants from nurseries at Puri and Brahmagiri and distributed them among villagers so they could plant them.”
So far, Himanshu has planted thousands of plants in his village and the neighbourhood schools, colleges and panchayat offices. He has launched the initiative, Green Parikuda, in his village. Green Parikuda is meant to create greenery in Parikuda so as to beautify houses, schools, colleges, roads, and vacant lands and help in restoring ecology.
Recounting an interesting incident, Himanshu says, “My family members planned to celebrate my son’s birthday in our village in a big way. I asked my father for an estimation of the total spend. My father said we could spend up to Rs 1 lakh. I told him to spend that money for the plantation. Initially, my father was reluctant as he wanted to celebrate his grandson’s first birthday with relatives and villagers. But I convinced him, and he decided to support a green activity. We celebrated the birthday with a few rituals costing about Rs 3,000 and spent the remaining on the plantation.”
Himanshu organised the mega event ‘Green Marathon 2017’ August 13, 2017. It was aimed at creating awareness about environmental issues by involving the people of Krushnaprasad in green activities. Students from four local colleges, 17 high schools, representatives from 14 panchayats, forest department officers including DFO, rangers, foresters, forest guards, block development officer, local police IIC, medical officials, and other dignitaries of the area participated in the programme.
In 2018, Himanshu created a nursery with 4,000 saplings which will be planted in the first week of July 2018. The saplings include Bel (stone apple), Amla (gooseberry), Bahada, Haridra, Arjun and Baulakoli and they will be planted in schools, colleges, panchayat offices, and government offices of Krushnaprasad.
“I save 10 to 15 per cent of my salary for planting activities. My wife Sasmita, a government school teacher, supports me in all that I do. My mission is to plant different varieties of Ayurvedic plants for a healthy environment. I also plan to start a yoga, meditation and Ayurveda centre in our locality,’’ he explains.