Uttarakhand's Tree Man Who Planted 50 Lakh Trees On Barren Land Passes Away At The Age Of 96

Conservationist and freedom fighter Vishweshwar Dutt Saklani, fondly known as the ¡®Vriksha Manav¡¯ or the ¡®Tree Man¡¯ died in Uttrakhand¡¯s Tehri District at the age of 96 on Friday (January 18, 2019) morning.

Born on June 2, 1922, Saklani started planting trees when he was 8 years old and planted over 50 lakh trees in Tehri district itself. The land was barren when he started the initiative and today lush green trees stand tall there.

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¡°A decade ago, he lost his eyesight because mud and pebbles went into his eyes while planting trees. But, that did not deter him. Even without eyesight, he planted thousands of trees,¡± his son Santosh Swaroop Saklani, who works at the Governor¡¯s Office, said, as mentioned in Hindustan Times.

During the initial years, he was opposed by the locals in his district who believed that he was trespassing on their land by planting trees. But his love and passion towards conserving environment and trees eventually won people over.

All along, his wife Bhagwati Devi supported his passion for the trees - ¡°Trees were his everything. He used to say, trees are my family, my parents, my friends and my world. He did not wish to see the world because for him every tree was a world of its own,¡± 80-year-old Bhagwati said.

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The forest area that was planted by Saklani was named ¡®Nagendra Dutt Saklani Van¡¯ after his elder brother Nagendra Dutt Saklani who was also a freedom fighter.

Saklani was honoured with the Indira Priyadarshini Award in 1986 by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.