Auto Driver Plants 100,000 Trees Across Tamil Nadu

When the banyan tree that shaded N Palanisamy's childhood was cut down in 2013, he didn't just mourn. He grabbed a shovel and started planting.

Palanisamy, now 55, is an auto rickshaw driver in Sangagiri, Tamil Nadu. After watching developers fell the tree beside his neighborhood temple, he began planting saplings at his old school with Rs 250 from his daily earnings. It was money his household needed, but the loss of that tree, combined with the death of his environmental hero Dr. G Nammalvar that same year, pushed him to act.

He quickly learned that planting was the easy part. The real work was keeping saplings alive through heat, cattle, and neglect. So he spent his earnings on protective cages, bamboo supports, and endless trips hauling water. His wife Gomathi supported him through those early, exhausting years when few people understood why he was doing this.

Word spread. In 2016, volunteers who'd been following his work on social media formed Pasumai Sangagiri, a group now 25 members strong. They meet every Sunday to water trees, clear weeds, and plant new saplings across schools, roadsides, temples, and hospitals.

The Sangagiri Lorry Owners Association started donating protective cages and free water tankers. Local businesses pitched in. Even during the pandemic, when planting paused, the group pivoted to sanitizing streets instead.

The Ripple Effect

Through the nursery Palanisamy now runs, Pasumai Sangagiri has distributed over 100,000 free saplings across Tamil Nadu. Volunteers have planted more than 50,000 palm seeds along waterways. They've even saved mature trees marked for demolition, using cranes to carefully relocate and nurse back to health 10 trees over 50 years old.

At Vadugapatti and Sangagiri Model School, once-barren campuses now bloom with greenery. When asked about his proudest moment, Palanisamy doesn't cite numbers. He talks about watching children eat fruit from trees he once protected as fragile saplings, and seeing barren stretches transformed into green spaces where families now gather.

More than a decade after losing the banyan that sparked everything, his Sunday afternoons still belong to the trees. One auto driver's grief became thousands of trees, proving that small acts of devotion can reshape entire landscapes.