This civic activist is on a mission to free city trees from nails and stapler pins

Vinod Kartavya removing nails (Image: The News Minute)

Vinod Kartavya, a scientist based in the Indian city of Bengaluru, is on a unique mission.

And what is it?

To remove nails and stapler pins from trees!!

It was a personal misfortune that got Kartavya working on his mission. This scientist working with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) was driving his bike when he received a phone call. So, he parked his two-wheeler on the side of the road, leaned against a tree, and began speaking to his friend on the phone.

This is when a nail from the bark of a tree scraped the back of his head and hurt him.

He then realized that most trees in the neighbourhood were riddled with nails and stapler pins. This is when he and his friends decided that they would spend one day each week removing such objects from trees so that others would not be hurt.

“Recently I was leaning against a tree and a nail sticking out of it hurt the back of my head. I removed the nail and noticed that nearly all the trees in Sampangiram Nagar ward were damaged like this with posters and advertisements. After this, my friends and I decided that we would spend a few hours every Sunday removing the foreign objects,” Vinod told ANI.

So, each Sunday, Kartavya ensures that he spends some time in removing nails, advertisement placards and other illegal signages that are pasted or stuck in the trees. Some trees that he has cleaned have had as many as 2,000 stapler pins!

This initiative undertaken by Kartavya will not only help people by preventing them from getting hurt but will also protect trees and increase their lifespan.

According to the provisions of the Tree Preservation Act and Bangalore Municipal Act, it is illegal to stick bills on trees. However, there is hardly any enforcement of this rule in the city and advertisers do engage promoting their products by sticking posters on trees.

What a noble initiative this is? What do you think of it? Share your views with us in the comments section below.

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