From company work to photographers to full-time activists, Rohit Joshi's journey is both fun and arduous. Few people work hard for change like Rohit can inspire more people.
It started with a simple wildlife photography tour, which allowed us to gain insight into the degree of environmental degradation in Thane and other areas of Mumbai. His friend clicked on an award-winning photo of Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, which left a deep impression on him, and he also started to perform the task of clicking it.
This migratory bird nested in the same cave where it was built last year. He and his friend waited by the same tree for several hours, hoping to have the opportunity to see and take a photo. But in the waiting days, they couldn't even see it once.
When they tried to ask the experts, he said that all the garbage collected in Yeoor Forest was the cause of the absence of kingfishers. After further investigation, they found that a lot of garbage flowed in from open channels (drainage ditch) and was collected in the forest. This hinders the circulation of this migratory bird. This proved to be a turning point for Rohit.
He began to conduct research and realized that habitat destruction and human encroachment are causing serious damage to the environment.
In shock, he and his friends decided to do something about it. Throughout the year, they launched a cleaning campaign and asked volunteers to clean up the dirtiest areas of Yeoor on a regular basis. They were ecstatic when they saw the bird came back the next year. With this proof, he is even more convinced that if they decide to do something, then they will have a considerable impact.
So their interest in this field deepened. They continue to conduct research and research on this subject.
After that, he established an organization called "Yeoor Environment Society" or YES, which is an umbrella organization. All NGOs engaged in environmental work belong to this organization and come from Mumbai and Thane. As part of their plan of action, they met with tribes living near the forest and told them that even they should participate in this cleanup mission. Their expertise and knowledge can be effectively used to promote this movement. The tribe supports this wholeheartedly, and they meet with other citizens to raise awareness.
The schoolchildren who live there are also the target group. Rohit said: "They were explained that this forest is yours. You just need to protect it. If city people try to destroy it, please stop them. We try to teach people to respect nature and forests when going there for an outing, not destroy it. it."
Facts have proved that due to the participation of revelers, India’s "Gatari" festival has caused particularly great damage to forests like Yeoor. The YES Foundation launched an event called "Green Gatari", which is in stark contrast to the traditionally celebrated Gatari, where people drink as much as they want, go to waterfalls and make a lot of garbage and throw away hot plastic plates, glasses, etc. Rohit said, "We have raised awareness of this harmful effect and told more people not to do it. We got amazing results. Last year, we found that the number of tourists going there to party has decreased by 90%. Now we go Tree planting activities and cleanup activities are held there. Now, when you visit the same place 7 years later, you will see the presence of the police, and the forest department has blocked 70% of the road to that place. You will see The occurrence of conservation work and the prosperity of the wildlife inside. Now you won’t see any plastic or garbage in it. This is a very big achievement for us, and it motivates us to try to replicate this in other places as well."
Rohit's passion for the environment allows him to support and pursue other causes that others are not prepared to solve. Two years ago, he submitted a petition to stop garbage dumping in the open channel in Mumbai. According to the Coastal Control Zone Regulations (CRZ), certain activities are prohibited in coastal areas. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has carried out a number of projects under its "Smart City" program and spent approximately 2.6 billion rupees. But they started dumping large amounts of construction waste in the CRZ notification area, especially the wetlands in 13 locations in Thane. Rohit and his friends met and wrote to the Maritime Commission, CRZ authorities, police, Zilla Parishad and other departments. According to CRZ regulations, this is illegal. Rohit remembers, “In the past two months, we have followed up and explained a lot of these departments. We told them the harm this reckless behavior would bring, but they were not in the mood to listen.” This was no result. They were in 2017. He went to the High Court of Mumbai in July of 2007.
Over the years, Mumbai has experienced severe stagnant water during the monsoon, causing the city to come to a standstill. Thane suffered the same fate. In 2017, a large section of the highway on Ghodbunder Road near Gaimukh was closed due to a large amount of water. "I have been telling these authorities about exactly the same things, but they haven't done much. Because of this incident, the people who live there had to go through a lot of difficulties. Many vehicles were destroyed. This is the prohibition of dumping garbage in sensitive areas. The reason for these illegal activities. The rules are for us and for our benefit, but some unscrupulous and general ignorance have led to heavy losses of property, life and nature. This is the reason why I finally submitted a petition to the High Court." He Say.
"The High Court instructed TMC to stop all activities on the first day of filing the petition. They asked TMC if it could stop all dumping and explain why this happened?" Rohit said. They replied that there were some sheds and fragments of buildings in that place. Rohit and his friends provided the video they filmed to the court about trucks filled with dirt and debris actually dumping there every day. HC saw the lies told by TMC.
The High Court instructed TMC to submit a detailed report within 3 weeks.
Similarly, in the Kopri area of Thane, dumping often occurs, and Rohit noticed this when he went there for bird watching. This is an area rich in mangrove forests. He complained, and a few days later, he saw a Puka road (concrete road) under construction there. Then he decided that some serious action must be taken. TMC stated in writing that they did not do this and did not know who was doing it. "I asked the Wetland Committee the same question. There are many cases related to wetland destruction. The High Court has set up a committee and sent many important figures and experts to it to authorize them to handle this case." Rohit said.
The committee gave TMC enough time to explain and remove the debris. If they do not, they will set a two-month deadline and ask them to remove the 11,000 metric tons of debris lying there during this period. After two months of day and night work there, TMC was forced to dismantle it all. As a precaution, TMC had to install CCTV cameras at this location. Anyone trying to dump the debris will be recorded immediately, and the police will reach out to arrest them. They also set up roadblocks so that heavy vehicles cannot enter the area.
Thanks to Rohit's efforts, the new mangrove saplings flourish and regenerate, and any damage to the mangrove forest is ineffective to a certain extent. This is an achievement. Rohit exclaimed: "Nature has the ability to regenerate. You only need to stop disturbing nature, and we humans must stop disturbing it."
Rohit's petition resulted in the deforestation of more than 5,000 trees. In October 2017, the “Tree Management Bureau” was established, and about 5,626 trees were approved to be felled for some development projects. “There are now about 5,000 trees in Thane, and about 1% of them will be felled due to decisions made in only one meeting,” he said. Its members have the responsibility to see if any trees really need to be felled, how many, and how to properly preserve trees that do not require hacking. They should also make suggestions in the development project-changes in alignment, design, etc.
"No one really tries to save the trees. This is my biggest problem. If you are an expert, you should oppose this decision." Rohit said. He decided that he would have to challenge this. He thought, if the experts don't talk much, then maybe we don't need these experts. "When I started to study the background of these so-called experts, I realized that they are not real experts, but political party workers. And HC mentioned that the experts who should be in the group should be nominated members from NGOs. They even Given the eligibility criteria, these people don’t. That’s why they don’t understand what harm the trees will bring if they are hacked. Because I am a Thanekar, I feel I have a responsibility to challenge it. The court ruled that no matter what happens, It's all illegal," he said.
The court noticed this and stopped the hacking, thus saving 5626 trees. "Next time the tree authority has a meeting, it will think about at least 100 unconscious hacking attacks. They will feel that even if a tree is cut down, some Thanekar will raise their voice. I do this not only for myself, but also for the next One generation," he said.
He was also part of the Save Aarey movement that took place in Mumbai and was one of the main petitioners of the movement. The campaign aims to stop the subway carports built by the government there. Aarey Forest is an ecologically sensitive area where the government is building a carport. Such plans require permission from the National Green Tribunal (NGT). It is home to hundreds of endangered species.
"What we're talking about is just choosing a place that won't cut down trees. Do it in some wasteland. Take the land you already own, why do you want to cut down the forest? Save Aarey is a civic movement. The core committee sat down and we checked the plan The route, subway, distance, where the carport is in the entire planned route, etc. We have done a detailed study and made recommendations to the government. There are about 7 spaces available for the government to use, and they are completely related to the subway lines and routes. Align. So don’t go there, but protect the biodiversity of this forest and build it in other alternative locations. The colony of Aarey is the last remaining lung of Mumbai. It is actually a quarter of Mumbai. They originally Other land can be used. The biggest point is that BMC wrote in their proposal that if they build a shed in Aarey, they can also use it for development in the future because they will get some space. This means they have considered To further destroy it. Therefore, as a citizen, I am really worried that this is not sustainable development.” Rohit said.
They have transferred NGT and the High Court. For the past 4.5 years, the Save Aarey organization has been able to prevent the government from building there. It is still a work in progress, it is still a people's movement, and thousands of citizens gather to protest from time to time. He hopes and hopes it will benefit the city.
When asked about the nature of development and the path it has taken in our country, Rohit said: "When we talk about the environment, it is also about peace of mind, not just nature. We need new ideas to make these Efforts are sustainable. The important thing is to start vertical growth now, not horizontal growth. No matter what norms there are, it needs to be changed, and there needs to be rules to balance it. It should not harm the environment and should meet the concept of development. This goal is achievable Yes, it is possible."
"People don't really want to go into activism. They are often happy to see other people raise this issue. The social problems that exist now, the surrounding problems, it is important to fight against them. The public does not like fighting against them. That's why they think other people..." he said.
He said: "It's time to do some'personal social responsibility' instead of'corporate social responsibility'." There are many things a person can do. If, as a vigilant citizen, you see some trees being felled, what can you do? The Tree Law protects all trees, whether they are in municipal locations or in housing associations. If they need to be cut, some guidelines are specified. You should ask permission. If they do not show you any permission letter, you need to call 100 immediately and notify the police. The police will then conduct an inspection, notify the relevant departments and take legal action. For those who want to participate in the event but do not have time as a reason, they can at least write an e-mail to the relevant authorities about this kind of environmental damage, or give some time to NGOs or people working on this issue to strengthen the campaign. There is always a way to contribute".
Rohit Joshi is just an ordinary person, but seeing the destruction of the precious nature around him makes him an activist. His story proves that if you have fire in your heart, you can illuminate the world and have a fiery impact. May there be more people like Rohit among us!
Author: IMPRI Institute of Impact and Policy
Self-introduction (optional)
If you do not receive an email within the next 5 minutes, please check your spam box or send an email to actnow@youthkiawaaz.com
Self-introduction (optional)
If you do not receive an email within the next 5 minutes, please check your spam box or send an email to actnow@youthkiawaaz.com
Self-introduction (optional)
If you do not receive an email within the next 5 minutes, please check your spam box or send an email to actnow@youthkiawaaz.com
Share your details to download the report.
We promise not to send spam or send irrelevant information.
Share your details to download the report.
We promise not to send spam or send irrelevant information.
As an ambassador and trained coordinator of Eco Femme (a social enterprise dedicated to menstrual health in southern India), Sanjina is also an active member of the Indian MHM collective and the Indian Menstrual Health Alliance. As part of their WinS project in rural areas of Bangladesh, she organized menstrual health courses in a number of government schools in 3240 Rotary District. She also provided trainer training on SRHR, gender, sex and menstruation for Tomorrow's Foundation, Vikramshila Education Resource Society, Nirdhan trust and Micro Finance, Tollygunj Women In Need, Paint It Red in Kolkata.
Now, as an MH researcher at YKA, she further expands her impressive scope of work by launching a campaign to promote ensuring that women living in West Bengal correctional institutions have better menstrual health and SRH services the process of. The movement will need to conduct an independent study to understand the current state of MHM in correctional facilities across the state and use its findings to build public support and political will to take necessary action.
Saurabh has been associated with YKA as a user and has been writing articles about MHM issues and their intersection with other issues in society. Now, as a MHM researcher at YKA, he has launched the "Menstrual Rights" campaign to ensure that Delhi schools correctly implement the MHM guidelines.
The long-term goal of the movement is to develop an open culture in which menstruation is not considered a taboo. The campaign also seeks to make schools accountable for their responsibilities by providing adequate sanitation infrastructure and MHM knowledge in school buildings as an important part of the implementation of the MHM policy.
Read more about his campaign.
Harshita is a psychologist dedicated to supporting people with mental health problems, especially teenagers who are survivors of violence. Harshita worked with UP's Azadi Foundation to become a MHM researcher at YKA, aiming to promote better menstrual health.
Her #MeriMarzi campaign aims to promote menstrual health and wellness, sanitation and facilities for UP female sex workers. She said: "Understanding the natural processes of the body is a very basic human right. For individuals whose occupation is to provide sexual services, this becomes even more important."
Meri Marzi aims to ensure that the needs of female sex workers in Suraksha clinics under the UPSACS (Uttar Pradesh National AIDS Control Association) program are sensitive and non-discriminatory by establishing more dialogue and gaining public support for the cause of sex workers. Sexual health workers. Menstrual rights. The campaign will also ensure that sex workers are intervened to eliminate misunderstandings about overall health management to ensure a two-way flow of results.
Read more about her campaign.
MH Fellow Sabna has extensive experience in handling a range of development issues. As the co-founder of the Sakhi Saheli project, Sabna has worked with women and girls in the past to study menstrual problems in Delhi's urban slums. The project aims to eliminate menstrual poverty and break menstrual taboos. She and her team also released MenstraBook with menstruation and organized Menstra Tlk at the Delhi School of Social Work to create more conversations about menstruation.
Sabna and YKA MHM Fellow Vineet launched Menstratalk, a campaign aimed at ending menstrual poverty and breaking menstrual taboos in society. First, the event aims to start a dialogue about menstrual health with 500 young people in Delhi through an offline platform, and to mobilize support through the community to create a menstrual-friendly institution outside of the city's educational institutions.
Read more about her campaign.
As a student of the Delhi School of Social Work, Vineet is part of the Sakhi Saheli project, which was initiated by students from the Delhi School of Social Work to raise awareness of menstrual health and the elimination of menstrual poverty. Vineet and Sabna, a MHM action researcher, launched Menstratalk, a campaign aimed at ending menstrual poverty and breaking social taboos on menstruation.
First, the event aims to start a dialogue on menstrual health with 500 young people in Delhi through an offline platform, and to mobilize support through the community to create a menstrual-friendly institution outside of the city's educational institutions.
Learn more about the event here.
Shalini Jha was born in the district of Bhagalpur-Bihar. He believes in the equal rights of all genders and hopes to work for a gender equal and just society. In the past, as a community leader, she had a one-year association with Haiyya: organizing a healthy movement rather than a shame movement. She is studying for a Master of Arts degree at Ambedkar University in Delhi, and as an MHM researcher at YKA, recently launched the "Project अल्हड़ (Alharh)".
She said: “Bihar ranks the lowest in India’s 2019 India Sustainable Development Goals Index. A hygienic and comfortable menstrual period is a basic human right, and sustainable development cannot be guaranteed if the menstrual period is deprived of their basic rights.” Project अल्हड़ (Alharh) aims to create a strong and sensitive community in Bhagalpur to jointly spread awareness, break taboos, debunk myths and initiate a fearless dialogue around menstruation. The campaign aims to benefit at least 6,000 girls in the Bagrepur district government and private schools in 2020.
Read more about the event here.
As a psychologist and co-founder of customized cognition for mental health NGOs, Ritika has been involved in menstrual health and hygiene, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equality as a MHM researcher at YKA. She said: "The work experience in MHM/SRHR and gender equality is a rich and eye-opening experience. I have understood the content of the problem, whether it is awareness, lack of resources, or even menstruation. Transgender men’s disregard."
The Transmen-ses campaign aims to solve the problem of silence and ignorance of the menstrual needs of transgender men by mobilizing gender-sensitive health professionals and gender-neutral restrooms in Lucknow.
Read more about the event here.
Nitisha is an educated computer science engineer who started her career in the corporate sector before realizing she wanted to work in the field of development and social justice. Since then, she has been working for Hinduism and Caring India and is from the founding batch of the Indian Institute of Development Management (ISDM), one of its kind organizations that cultivate leaders for the development sector through its experiential learning graduate program .
As a researcher of Youth Ki Awaaz menstrual health, Nitisha initiated the Let's Talk Period campaign to mobilize young people to switch to sustainable menstrual products. She said, “The 8 million women in Delhi use non-biodegradable sanitary products to produce 3,000 tons of menstrual waste, which takes 500-800 years to decompose; this in turn will cause health problems for all menstrual patients and increase the city’s waste management burden. And the harmful living environment of all citizens.
Let's Talk Period aims to change this in the following ways
Learn more about her campaign here.
Share your details to download the report.
We promise not to send spam or send irrelevant information.
Lakshmi Bhavya served as the Assistant Minister of Women and Child Development of West Bengal for three months and has been advocating for menstrual hygiene in her area. By linking herself to the Lalana Campaign, a comprehensive menstrual hygiene awareness campaign carried out by the Anahat NGO, Lakshmi gradually broke the taboos in menstrual and menstrual hygiene.
As a gender rights activist working with Indian tribes and marginalized communities, Srilekha is a PhD scholar dedicated to understanding the body and sexual behavior of tribal girls in order to fill in the research gaps around indigenous women and their stories. In the past 6 years, Srilekha has carried out extensive cooperation with community organizations at the grassroots level, through a number of publicity activities for the indigenous people of Jharkhand through gender, mental health, menstrual hygiene, and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR).
Srilekha has also contributed to sustainable livelihood projects and legal aid projects for sex trade survivors. She has been conducting research projects on maternal health, mental health, gender-based violence, sex and sexual behavior. Her interest lies in holding workshops for young people on life skills, feminism, gender and sex, trauma, resilience, and relationships.
Bidisha is a Guwahati University student studying for a master's degree at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She launched the #BleedwithDignity campaign on the technology platform Change.org, asking the Assam government to install biodegradable in all public schools across the state Sanitary napkin vending machine. Her petition on Change.org has gained support from more than 90,000 people, and it continues to grow.
Bidisha was selected into Change.org's flagship program "She Creates Change", and she successfully launched a widely recognized online promotion campaign. Through the #BleedwithDignity event; she organized and celebrated the 2019 World Menstrual Hygiene Day in Guwahati, Assam by cooperating with local organizations to organize murals. The initiative was widely reported by the national and local media, and the mural was later unveiled by the chief guest commissioner of IAS’ Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Debeswar Malakar.
Sign up for the Youth Ki Awaaz Prime Minister Briefing below
Status / UT Andhra PradeshArunachal PradeshAssamBiharChandigarh (UT) and ChhattisgarhDadra Nagar Haveli (UT) Daman and black (UT) Delhi (NCT) GoaGujaratHaryanaHimachal PradeshJammu and KashmirJharkhandKarnatakaKeralaLakshadweep (UT) Central PradeshMaharashtraManipurMeghalayaMizoramNagalandOdishaPuducherry (UT) PunjabRajasthanSikkimTamil NaduTelanganaTripuraUttarakhandUttar PradeshWest Bengal preferably Languageenglishhindi subscription