VIVAN Life Sciences Blog
Sundaram Tiwari, a 30-year-old environmentalist from Pratapgarh, is leading the ‘Save Sai River’ initiative to restore his hometown’s polluted river. Through his campaigns, he has planted over 2 lakh trees and raised awareness about the importance of river conservation and environmental responsibility.
“Keeping our country clean is our responsibility. We should all take ownership of our surroundings,” says Sundaram Tiwari, a 30-year-old environmentalist from Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh. By taking responsibility for his surroundings, he serves as an inspiration to young people with the potential to make a positive impact on society through environmental care.
His journey into environmental activism began not in a classroom, or a conference hall, but on the fields where he grew up. As a child, he spent long summer afternoons in his uncle’s mango orchards, where over 27 species of mangoes grew. The trees provided shade, and the air was cool.
“But as I grew older, I saw those fields vanish. All the species of mangoes, too, became just memories. I realised that if this is the condition in our village, it must be worse in cities. I knew I had to do something,” he tells The Better India.
During his B Pharmacy days, he supported underprivileged children by raising money for their school fees. However, as he witnessed the increasing destruction of nature, he was deeply affected, feeling an undeniable urge to shift his focus towards environmental causes.
The bicycle diaries
In April 2022, the young environmentalist embarked on what would become one of the most ambitious journeys of his life. He began a bicycle yatra, with the aim of spreading awareness about environmental conservation.
Over the next one and a half years, he cycled across the country, stopping in villages and towns across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Gujarat, and Telangana.
