NELLORE: With an aim to raise awareness on the conservation of water, Dr T Vasanatha Lakshmi has managed to mobilise several people to join her campaign.
Vasantha Lakshmi adopted the practice of protecting the environment in her surroundings while she was a student. She worked as an NCC cadet at SV University in Tirupati. She completed her schooling in various parts of the Rayalaseema region where her father worked in the government sector.
She has facilitated water literacy programmes for sensitising the rural and urban communities under the Vasantha Lakshmi Charitable Trust and Research Centre based out of Nellore. The Charitable Trust focuses on the conservation of water, safe drinking water, plantation and water harvesting methods in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.
“We have planted nearly 5 lakh saplings in the past 15 years and handed over the maintenance to local residents and have conducted over 2,500 awareness programmes on water conservation. This year, we have concentrated on sensitising students on water conservation methods. We aim to create awareness on water conservation methods among 10 lakh people and have interacted with 3 lakh people across the four states,” she said.
Now, the Trust has taken up ‘Jal Dhan Yatra’ to provide a platform for the best practices of water conservation and rainwater harvesting methods based on the theme of ‘reach the unreached and serve the unserved’ from Kashmir to Kanyakumari this year.
Further, members of the Trust are also going to organise an international seminar on water conservation.
“The Trust has been making concrete efforts and creating awareness of water management practices among the public. We have interacted with women, farmers and people from various sections and have explained to them about the conservation of water. We will continue activities of planting saplings and others with the support of the public,” said Dr T Vasantha Lakshmi.
The Trust has bagged the ‘Water Heroes’ award announced by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, GOI for the month of July last year.
Around 4,000 volunteers
The Advisory Board of Vasantha Lakshmi Charitable Trust consists of 18 members headed by Vasantha Lakshmi. The Trust is having nearly 4,000 volunteers across the country, including private employees, auto drivers, rickshaw pullers and retired government employees from top position