Most of us do not take initiative on the pretext that a single man cannot make any impact of any significance to its environment. Well Gurdev Singh of Ganduwa village in Sangrur district of Punjab, is an exception. A frail man with little infrastructure to support has been able to turn whole of his village and surrounding area into an green oasis, envy of most villages in this part of the world.

Ganduwa village is part of Malwa region made infamous due to farmer suicides due to brackish water and infertile soil. However the village is one of the coolest and greenest in the area. Gurudev over last 25 years has single handedly been planting Triveni trees in his village. Triveni is a cluster of trees of peepal, neem and bohar. He has not bought a single sapling, since he finds these in the creeks of walls or wells. All he does is, takes these saplings from these creeks and plants them in nearby land and nurtures them. Initially planting on land of others did create problem, however he convinced people of the value, even taking help of religious scriptures. His greatest joy is when he sees people sitting under the shade of these trees. Singh is credited to have planted almost 1200 trivenis till now and has also inspired some of the younger men in the village to plant trees. Who says one man cannot make a difference. All that is needed is resolve and perseverance.

http://blog.srr-foundation.org/?p=894