Once those drains, roads which used to be full of garbage, I cleaned them and made them green, now iamgurgaon is my identity

Everyone loves my house, mohalla, neighborhood, but I loved my whole city, so I did not want to see it deserted, barren and without trees and started turning the soil of this city into gold. These are the words of banker turned environmentalist and activist Latika Thukral.

55-year-old Latika says in a special conversation with Woman Bhaskar, 'After two years of studying marketing from Delhi University, did a management program. 25 years ago today, I had come from Delhi to live in Gurugram. Before that 18 years worked in Citibank. The kids were small, so 14 years ago I took a break from my job.

Rapid construction gave the idea of ​​saving the environment

Left Delhi and came to Gurugram because it was a small city. Later on, construction started happening everywhere. Big buildings started being built. The environment started being harmed. I saw trees being cut. Rivers are drying up. Due to the cutting of the forest, the insects and mites living in them are snatching away the house of the animals, then I started the campaign named IMGurgaon in association with Swanjal Kapoor and Ambika Aggarwal. At that time we did not know what we would do. We wanted to help them by working with the government, but gradually this work got bigger.

Aravali Biodiversity Park was a big success

It has been 13 years since IM Gurgaon started and till now we have worked on many projects. With the help of Government, NGOs, Citizens and Corporates, we have restored 153.7 hectares of Aravali Biodiversity Park, 5.2 kms Chakkarpur Wazirabad Dam, Badshahpur Forest Corridor and 90 acres of Sikanderpur Watershed back to green and beautiful.

Aravali Biodiversity Park was a huge success. Mining used to happen here, after that the entire area was left barren. That is, the danger of living for the native plant and animal species of the country's oldest mountain range had increased.

As their numbers were dwindling, we the residents of Gurugram worked hard to regain our forest. The Aravalli Biodiversity Park has been recognized as India's first Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECM site).

We converted Chakkarpur Wazirabad Dam from garbage dumping site into beautiful park. The places where people did not like to go earlier because of the dirt, now everyone from children to the elderly go there. Now there is safety, there is people, there is beauty.

journey was not easy

It was not that easy to do all this. People had encroached illegally at many places. It took time for them to understand. When we started working on the environment, the officials didn't even talk properly. We had to prove ourselves. Now people trust us. We did our job with hard work, dedication and honesty. We never deviate from our vision. This is our success.

start at your own level

I think it is better to work on it than to curse the shortcomings. We only think that the front of my house is good, I do not face any problem in commuting anywhere, we have to rise above this thinking and think on a bigger perspective.

Plant trees as you wish, keep dry-wet waste separately, use less water, you can also start at your level. A one-sided start benefits the entire community, the environment. We have to think about what we want to leave for our children. We have to think not only of ourselves but of the future generations.