UTTARAKHAND: Tanuja Joshi doesn’t need an introduction in Haldwani, her hometown, around 270 km from Dehradun.
These days, she leaves her home around 11 am every day and returns after 2 pm after distributing food, rations and other essentials such as sanitisers, masks, soaps and sanitary pads among the poor at different locations in and around the city.
More than 200 families of migrant workers, daily wagers and underprivileged have been provided at least one week’s ration by her.
“These are trying times for us. We should all come together and help each other and provide food or money to those struggling to make their ends meet,” says Joshi. But she is not doing the good work only during the current lockdown necessitated by the coronavirus outbreak.
This has been her way of life for which she paid a heavy personal price. The journey of the 45-year-old has been full of hurdles, but she never gave up. Her two brothers were murdered in 1999 and 2004 by gangster Ramesh Bambaiya after her father, a businessman, refused to give in to the extortionist’s demands.
As Joshi continued to fight the murder cases of her brothers in courts, her husband decided to part ways in 2007, leaving her to bring up their son, then 10 years old, all alone. Bambaiya was convicted in 2007 and died of cancer in the jail. Her father also passed away in 2013.
For green cause
Many would not be able to fight back after losing so much as she did. To support herself and her son, now a final-year engineering student, she worked as a teacher and warden in schools in Nainital and Delhi. She even started property-dealing and later, opened a car tyre showroom.
At the same time, the tough journey to justice brought her closer to nature. In the last six years, she has been going door-to-door, urging people to let her plant a tree in their home. The campaign has now resulted in thousands of Gulmohar trees across the city and she has come to be known as the ‘Gulmohar lady’.
Joshi’s love for nature doesn’t stop here. Every year, she treks up to remote hills with a small team and encourages people to not leave their villages and rather, join her campaign to contribute to the environment.
“Our girls need to be educated and trained in self-defence. I work with people who understand my motive and are willing to go the extra mile,” said this crusader. Joshi, who has rejected an offer to contest the municipal elections, says she would rather serve the people.
Honoured for doing her bit to save the earth
A masters in sociology, Tanuja Joshi teaches self-defence to underprivileged girls, organises health camps for children and various other training courses.
She has been honoured by Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati in Badrinath for her contribution to the environment.