Bengaluru man to make tree his home Aims to draw attention to the plight of forests being lost to rampant coal mining in central India

Bengaluru man to make tree his home

Aims to draw attention to the plight of forests being lost to rampant coal mining in central India

As India talks of power crisis and coal scams, Brikesh Singh (32) is preparing for his month-long stay on a tree in the vicinity of a thermal power plant in Chandrapur. A professional climber and an environmentalist working with Greenpeace, Singh seeks to highlight a very different aspect about coal. “I am an ordinary guy. The issue of saving our forests from coal mining is something that needs immediate and urgent attention. That’s why I decided to live on a tree for a month so that citizens sit up and take notice and then take action,” says the Bengaluru resident. Located near a coal mine and thermal power plant run by the Western Coalfields, Singh will spend an entire month on the tree. “I will build a makeshift house on the tree. For reliving myself and bathing, I will come down,” he says. The context to this unusual protest is the UN Convention on Biodiversity in October, which is being hosted by the Indian government in Hyderabad. These proposed coal based power plants, if approved by the government will destroy India’s biodiversity and tiger-rich forests, says Singh. From August 9, Brikesh began a journey — from his hometown Mumbai to the forests of Chandrapur — to show people where our electric supply really comes from and at what cost. As he travels, an accompanying crew will shoot his story, which will later be edited into a series of seven five minute-long films and uploaded on www.greenpeace.org

Published Date:  Aug 26, 2012