Although people care and work to make some difference, such people don’t debate in a crowded stadium but get out of their house to make things right. Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri is among those people who worked on the ground to save mother nature. He organized a clean-up drive called Ecobuddies to clean Kapra Lake. Then he launched many other initiatives to motivate others to work for the environment.
They say, ‘The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing we share. So nature is precious for all of us. Humanity cannot exist on earth without preserving nature. Our existence is directly proportional to nature’s health and well-being. That’s why it’s our responsibility to look after nature.
But do we consider it our responsibility? In broader terms, we don’t, of course, there are exceptions present in our society who care about the environment and our planet’s health, but these people exist in the minority. The majority don’t even recognize its importance. So, considering it as their responsibility or prioritizing nature over the economy is out of the question. Humankind will never think about it.
Let us know more about his life in this interview.
Interview with Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri
Aashna: Vishal, tell us more about yourself
Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri – I’m Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri. I belonged to Hyderabad and graduated from Visakhapatnam. My mother is a lecturer at a university, and my dad works with a corporation. Currently, I’m serving as an environmental activist and working hard to save our water bodies.
Aashna: When and why did you start working as an environmental activist?
Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri – This story is related to my childhood. There was a beautiful lake nearby my school. It was called Kapra Lake, and we saw it as a hang-out spot. During those days, we used to visit the lake very frequently because the aura of the lake was mesmerizing. It was clean and blue. I remember seeing Kapra lake as a kid, flashes of the cool breeze that would touch my face, rippling waves, clean water, and fresh air around the sea.
For a while, I stopped visiting the lake due to location issues. Then I went back and saw people worshiping God and Lake then throwing leftovers in water. After worshipping, they dumped everything in the lake like it was some dustbin. The scene broke my heart. You won’t believe I was only 14 years old, and those visitors were way more mature than me. Still, they couldn’t see what I could. They didn’t have an ounce of care for the waterbody. Otherwise, they would have never treated it as a dustbin. That scene disturbed me for a while, but I couldn’t stop it because I was a kid.
During my college years, I went back to see Kapra, but what met my eyes wholly stunned me. It wasn’t the old, spectacular, clean, and blue lake. It was dirty, filled with garbage and plastic. Along with it, its cold breeze, rippling waves, and fresh air were gone too. Weed plants and filthy junk replaced them.
It was heart-wrenching for me to see the lake’s nature and surroundings. I couldn’t stand its sight. It was painful to watch because the lake had no fault. Nature didn’t ruin it, but humans did. I was angry at those people who treated the lake as a dustbin. This disaster was the result of their actions. I was hurt, angry, and enraged, but I knew I couldn’t punish them. However, I could save the lake by cleaning it, and I wanted to do it.
So my friends and I planned to organize a clean-up drive called Ecobuddies. Before organizing, we were uncertain about it as we didn’t know how many natives would join the drive and what their reaction would be. Nonetheless, we were adamant enough to continue. So we went ahead with the plan. Surprisingly, 500 people came forward to join our first drive.
At that time, I felt so good because people were helping each other in tidying the lake. They wanted to clean everything. It was very shocking because, within 2 hours, the entire shore of the lake was plastic and garbage-free, and people took out those weed plants. Lake looked like the same old Kapra lake I grew up admiring.
This incident motivated me to work as an environmental activist. When I was in school, I was willing to do something different in my life. That’s why it was a life-altering moment for me. Since that day, I have never looked back.
Aashna: How did you continue the journey?
Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri – After tasting success, we planned to meet several government officials to seek their help. They were satisfied with our ideas and released a certain amount of budget for the lake restoration. For me, it was a tremendous achievement. I was overjoyed. Then we petitioned them to create a small pond near the lake where immersion of idols can occur, and they complied with our request.
Later, we all identified that the lakes were polluted by harmful external elements such as plastic and other garbage. A harmful process called Eutrophication increased the concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other plant nutrients in the water. In this process, a plant multiplies on the water’s surface and does not permit oxygen to travel to aquatic life. This cycle slowly killed the ecosystem. However, one can remove these plants, and the lake is restored. At present, Kapra lake is almost free from plastic, Eutrophication, and any harmful substance. Along with it, our team is laboring for the restoration of other water bodies in the city.
Aashna: Have you ever faced any problem from the government’s side?
Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri – No, I have never faced any problem from the government’s side.
Government representatives have supported us throughout the journey. The Environment Minister of State, Mr. Jogram Anna, also aided us in so many things.
Apart from these people, a few other government representatives like Governors and MLA’s also contributed to our growth. I wouldn’t say everybody did, but these representatives played a considerable role in our success.
Aashna: Why didn’t you choose other professions over this work?
Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri – Because I love doing what I’m doing. Nature attracted me at a young age when I was in school. This incident happened in the 7th standard. A known food brand pursued our school to distribute tiffin boxes among the kids during the lunch hour. Our principal agreed to it. They began to serve us in the lunch hour.
Their lunch boxes were made of aluminum foil. After eating, they dumped those boxes into the bin. Later, they were burnt together. However, this action caused too much pollution. I didn’t find it right, and I couldn’t stay silent. So I went to the principal, and I suggested if students could bring their tiffin boxes. You can tell the organization to serve in our tiffin boxes. This way, we can avoid burning aluminum foil tiffins.
He appreciated my concern and forwarded my idea to the organization, but they refused to accept it. In response, our principal canceled the deal. This incident stayed stuck in my mind. It left a massive impact on my mind. Then after Kapra lake, I was sure I wanted to work to improve the health of the climate.
Aashna: What are your achievements in the environmental field?
Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri – Multiple newspapers and media houses featured me. Once I was invited as a special guest to my university. Later, I was called as a guest speaker at a disaster management conference. I held the position of chairperson of climate access on United Nations Youth Day. Apart from it, I have been invited as chief guest in multiple events and conferences.
But my most significant achievement is the restoration of Kapra lake and the work I’m currently doing. Because what we are doing is for the country and the development of the city. Whatever we have done has been fruitful throughout the journey, and I count it as an achievement.
Aashna: What do you want to tell our readers?
Vishal Raj Tirukovaluri – Save mother nature, or if you can’t save it, please stop destroying it. Behave well when you are around water bodies. They are our life saviors, and we cannot survive without them. Stop taking nature for granted. We are here because nature created us. We had no hand in creating nature. So mother nature is way more powerful than humans. We must keep it safe and protected, but we are working in the opposite direction. We must save water bodies because our lives depend on them. For a minute, imagine the world without water. You can’t. Yes, that’s the value. For human sake, please save our mother nature.
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