His garb may be glowing orange but his heart is completely green.
Balbir Singh Seechewal is Punjab’s ‘Eco-Sant’, a man committed to cleaning up the rivers and water supply of Punjab and of India’s waterways in general.
Cleaning up Punjab and India is a Herculean task given the extent to which the country is polluted.
It is next to impossible without the active particiaption of its 1.2 billion citizens, the vast majority of whom have little regard for environmental issues.
Surrey’s Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS) Society hosted the man who is taking on this massive challenge.
Seechewal spoke at length about the environmental challenges facing Punjab. He explained how pure water gets mingled with chemicals on its way into Punjab from Himachal Pradesh and becomes completely unfit to drink. The addition of chemicals such as arsenic, lead and cyanide into the water has led to innumerable deaths in villages.
Seechewal’s environmental initiatives include the plantation of flowers, fruits, and medicinal trees for the preservation of the environment.
He is also working to install underground sewerage systems in the state to clean up villages and towns and treat sewerage waters for agricultural purpose to promote natural farming.
For more information on how you can help go to www.santseechewal.net.