Potter Waters 1000s of Roadside Trees for 12 Years Straight

Every day for the past 12 years, Gopal has filled a 500-litre water tank and made his rounds through Banaras, watering roadside trees that everyone else forgot. The potter from Uttar Pradesh noticed what happens after every ceremonial tree planting: officials leave, cameras disappear, and saplings die of thirst.

Instead of planting more trees, he decided to save the ones already struggling. Armed with buckets at first and now a full water tank, Gopal tends to thousands of saplings across his city, spending his own money and every spare hour he has.

The numbers explain why his work matters so much. A 2022 government audit found that over 40% of planted saplings in India die within their first year, mostly from lack of water and monitoring. Along roadsides where soil is hard and shade is scarce, survival rates drop even lower.

Gopal fills the gap that government programs leave behind. Each morning before his pottery work begins, he travels the same routes, bringing water to trees that would otherwise wither in the heat and dust.

His dedication did not earn him instant praise. Some people mocked him, calling his efforts pointless. Others questioned why a potter would waste time and money on trees that might die anyway.

He kept watering them.

The Ripple Effect

Gopal's neighbours eventually noticed something remarkable. The saplings he tended actually survived and grew into healthy trees. Streets that once looked barren now offer shade to pedestrians and cleaner air to breathe.

People started calling him "Oxygen Baba," a nickname that captures both their affection and the environmental gift he gives his city. Mature roadside trees cool urban areas, filter pollution, and create green corridors in concrete jungles.

Gopal rarely talks about himself or seeks recognition. When asked about his work, he redirects the conversation to the trees and their needs. But his neighbours remember the 12 years of mockery, expense, and exhausting summer days he pushed through.

His pottery work connects him naturally to soil and water, elements he shapes daily with his hands. That relationship with earth seems to fuel his instinct to nurture rather than simply plant and walk away.

The lesson in Gopal's story reaches far beyond one Indian city. Environmental action does not always need massive budgets, complex programs, or international summits. Sometimes it requires one person with a water tank and the patience to show up every single day.

Twelve years later, Gopal still makes his rounds, proving that protecting nature demands consistency more than wealth, and that one person's dedication can grow an entire urban forest.