The India State of Forest Report states that India has a forest cover 701,673 sq km, or 21.34% of the country, compared to 640,819 sq km 29 years ago. The loss of trees at such a rapid pace has been due to reasons like water shortage, urbanisation among others.
Realising the loss, Siva Ramalingam, who had moved to Chennai sometime in the early 2000s planted some seedlings and saplings on the curbs of Coastal Road and Gangai Street in Besant Nagar, Chennai. However, watering the plants always remained a problem due to which Ramalingam had to buy water from private water tankers. That is when the idea of using recycled waste water from households struck him.
“As there were no trees in the surroundings, the heat made living in my own house unbearable. I thought that growing couple of trees would bring shade and thus cool the house. So out of necessity, I started looking for different ways to get water. Suddenly a brainwave struck to my amazement, and I realized that the water used for bathing and in the kitchen could be used for watering the trees,” said Ramalingam.
He explains that an average Indian household uses approximately 5000 litres of water everyday which is enough to water 10-20 trees, if recycled. Ramalingam uses ‘grey water’ which includes only water used for bathing and kitchen usage. The water is channelled using separate drums that are installed like sumps. To avoid any kitchen waste get in the way, he has fixed a filter that strains away everything. The water is then pumped out through a small motor and let flow along the street through a simple underground pipe network and released through taps at different points. “The entire cost of plumbing amounted to ₹500,” he adds.
The man alone has planted 300 trees and has been watering all those plants using recycled waste water from households.