Cool Bihari: Green Teens from Patna

BBC reports on the good work done by a group of youngsters committed to preserving the environment under the Taru Mitra organization in Patna.

A 10-acre farm has been converted into the city's only bio-reserve, by children. They belong to Taru Mitra (Friends of Trees), a group of youngsters committed to preserving the environment. The dense reserve is dotted with some 50 varieties of trees, environment-friendly buildings with bamboo and waste paper roofs, ponds, a solar energy-powered office, and a compost making unit.

All of this is the labour of love of a few thousand children from a little more than 100 schools in a city where lawlessness is rife and children have been kidnapped in the past for ransom. Abhishek Bharadwaj, 15, Achala Parmar, 14, and Wartika Pande, 13, are among the school children who have been planting trees and greening a city where, by one estimate, there is only one tree for every 2,000 people.

This reminds me of my days in school when we use to volunteer for the Taru Mitra activities in various social and cultural events like Book Fair and other events. Good to see the passion and commitment of the students and people from Taru Mitra who have kept the spirit alive despite the odds faced in the last few years.