Jalandhar, October 6balbir singh seechewal
It has been a long journey for Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal from a small town to figure among 30 environmental heroes feted by the Time magazine in its latest issue.

He and Mohammad Dilawer, the sparrow man from Nasik, are the two Indians who have it in them to confront the threats facing the earth today.

“They know that they cannot single-handedly reverse the damage, but by their example, by their willingness to dedicate themselves to what too many still dismiss as a hopeless cause, these heroes of the environment provide light in the darkness. They are a living proof that despair is not the only option, that hope remains a choice. They remind us that in the face of human creativity and will, no challenge is too great, and no battle is invincible - if only we’ll fight,” the magazine adds.

The sant has been on the forefront to revive the Kali Bein in Sultanpur Lodhi since 2000. The Bein has the same significance for the Sikhs as the Bodh tree at Gaya has for the Buddhists. It was here that Guru Nanak Dev stayed for 14 years 9 months and 13 days and attained enlightenment. He used to meditate and bathe in the river every day.

Talking to The Tribune, Seechewal thanked the magazine for highlighting their efforts. “I also express my gratitude to the Almighty for according me the opportunity to be of some service to him and the community,” he added.

The kar sewa has not only provided people with manifold benefits and opened new vistas for economic development, but also spread awareness about the need to preserve our natural water resources, he pointed out.

“I am pained to see that people are not only cutting the branch on which they are sitting, but are uprooting the entire tree nowadays. It seems that people are hellbent on polluting water resources for petty gains.

“While farmers have left no stone unturned to pollute air, soil and food, the industrial and urban society has tried its best to ruin the rivers by dumping their poisonous waste and sewage in the water bodies,” he bemoaned.

“If we are to leave the earth a better place to live in for the coming generations, we have to do our bit in keeping the environment clean and green, otherwise it will be too late to do anything,” he warned.

tribuneindia.com