THENI: It’s the checkup day for Yashini, an eight-year-old with Type 1 diabetes. She shows no tantrums or fear, instead, there is only sheer excitement on her face. She can’t wait to share the updates of her plant which was gifted by her favourite Dr CP Rajkumar of Nalam Hospital in Theni. “The plant has grown by nearly two inches. I take care of it by watering twice a day,” says the kid, smiling.
Entering Nalam, one would be struck with the fragrance of Indian Borage (Omavalli) placed in pretty ceramic pots all over the premises. Every patient comes out of Dr Rajkumar’s room with a plant in their hand. Alongside this distribution, he has been spearheading the reduction of plastic waste in his hospital for the past 15 years.
The 47-year-old completed his MBBS in Stanley Medical College, MD (general medicine) in Madras Medical College and a specialisation course (Diabetics) in the UK. His mother Susetha, being a lifelong nature enthusiast, got Rajkumar interested in preserving nature and natural habitats very early on. An ex-member of the Tamil Nadu wildlife board, Rajkumar is a multi-faceted person — a diabetologist, animal lover, wildlife photographer, and nature enthusiast — all rolled into one.
His main goal has been to protect nature from single-use plastics (SUPs) and he has crafted many initiatives such as zonal cleaning programmes and kanmoi (traditional tanks) restoration campaigns in Vellimalai, Allinagaram, Eswar Nagar, Vannathiparai and other places.
To ensure the safe disposal of all plastic syringes, Nalam also offers one insulin syringe in exchange for ten used plastic syringes. Moreover, SUPs are completely banned inside Nalam’s premises, the hospital he started in 2007. As an alternative, hospital management makes use of paper bags, avoiding over 4,500 kg of plastic waste in a span of seven years.
“Initially I had given the duty to collect paper bags for hospital use to the night watchmen. Apart from the salary, I paid them `1.50 for every paper bag. Nowadays other employees also take up the task for additional income. Plastic bottles are banned inside the premises. We provide RO water inside, and people can purchase stainless steel water bottles at the pharmacy. We have also installed a solar rooftop, which accounts for 40% of the electricity consumption. In order to encourage power conservation and green energy, we offer the money saved to our employees,” says Rajkumar.
As a member of the Tamil Nadu biodiversity board, he was recently asked to submit a report on Arittapatti, following which the locale was announced as a biodiversity heritage site. Along with his friends, he founded Vanam Trust in 2007 for carrying out environmental research. “Whenever possible, with the permission of the forest department, we take trips into the woods. No mobile phones, just pure oxygen, watching birds, animals, and plants which helps refresh one’s senses. R Chaitanya, a Vanam member, even found a new reptilian species, Hemidactylus vanam, in 2018 around the Megamalai forest region”, says Rajkumar.
Honouring his initiatives, the Environment and Climate Change Minister Siva V Meyyanathan presented him with the Manjappai award recently.
(Edited by Suriya B)