Think of the term ‘green crusader’ and it would be hard to come up with a person befitting the title more than Coimbatore’s Vanitha Mohan. Proving to be a modern-day inspiration for environmentalists across the nation, she was responsible for making a city come together a decade ago in order to tackle the issue of reclaiming the urban water bodies, and increasing the green cover in the region.
Today, her fight is still ongoing — but her efforts as part of her NGO Siruthuli (which means ‘small drop’ in Tamil) have yielded more than 300 rain water harvesting structures, desiltation of seven water bodies, ambitious afforestation programmes with more than four lakh saplings planted, and getting the student community involved in the project to create mass awareness. With her sole aim of restoring the River Noyyal, Vanitha and her team strive in search of a greener future — one drop at a time.
“Ten years ago, the inspiration for Siruthuli, I have to say, was fear — a deep-rooted fear of a city without water, and facing a desperate situation. But the support for our case has far outweighed the challenges, as the city came together to address the social commitment required to conserve water and air,” smiles Vanitha, who is also a board member of Tamil Nadu Women’s Development Corporation and a prominent businesswoman in South India. Did her background help her in her quest? “Well, yes, to a certain extent, as I knew what I had to do and how to go about it in an organised fashion, as we faced the biggest challenge of all, encroachment of water bodies. But the government readily motivated us, from the collector to the commissioner,” she explains.
“Seeing is believing — that’s the motto we followed. Instead of preaching at workshops or seminars, we showed the public our results — the rise in the ground water level. But it was hard work: 50 per cent activities, 50 per cent creating awareness! Even today, we visit schools, colleges, corporate, residential areas to inform people — we need to make them understand that future generations will be living in the world we leave behind,” Vanitha says.
She adds, “Slowly, people came around. When we called out for volunteers on a Sunday morning, 10,000 residents turned up to help in the desiltation process. The inmates of Central Jail have been responsible for planting more than one lakh saplings.”
Since then, Siruthuli has been recognised in various sectors. Its efforts have been awarded with the Unesco — Water Digest Award, Green Globe Foundation Award and the crowning glory: Being named one of the best three NGOs in the world for “Best Water Practices” by Water for Life Secretariat of The United Nations.
Serving as the executive director of Pricol Ltd where she works along with her husband Vijay, Vanitha’s personal support system also comprises her two sons, Vikram and Viren, who are both successful in their own fields, “My family has been an absolute source of motivation — it would have been impossible for us to achieve what Siruthuli has, without their backing. It is a challenge sometimes to balance my family, work and the NGO, but my passion and a sense of responsibility make it easy.”
Vanitha concludes that all the stress of her demanding schedule does get to her at times, but she has her remedy — playing with her grandchildren! “I love to listen to music, or spend time with my grandkids Madhura and Manasa... they are the apples of my eyes, and can make any problem disappear in a jiffy!” she says.
