Many tree-planting programs in India follow the same script: officials arrive with saplings, photographers document the ceremonial digging, and banners announce the achievement of another green goal. However, after all participants leave, the young trees often fend for themselves, facing heat, vehicle dust, and stray cattle, and most do not survive the first year.
Gopal, a potter from Uttar Pradesh, noticed this pattern long before it became a topic of discussion. Instead of increasing the number of saplings planted along roads each season, he decided to care for the plants that were already struggling to grow.
For the past twelve years, he has dedicated his time, resources, and effort to watering the roadside trees near his home in Banaras. This routine activity quietly earned him the nickname 'Oxygen Baba.' Gopal earns a living making clay pots, which closely connects him to the earth and water. This daily proximity to the land has apparently shaped his drive toward caregiving rather than just planting.
He began his mission with several buckets of water carried on foot to the saplings growing along the streets of his neighborhood. Initially, there was no funding, no organization, and no plan other than ensuring the young trees did not die from neglect. What started as a modest gesture evolved into a full-time daily commitment. Now, Gopal uses a 500-liter tank to access the roadside trees over a wider area, watering them with the same discipline he applies to his pottery wheel.
Gopal's approach is supported by factual data. According to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's report for 2022, more than 40% of trees planted under compensatory afforestation programs failed to survive beyond the first year. The main reason was that the saplings were planted in unsuitable locations and then left without supervision. Other assessments of tree-planting programs note that a lack of water during the first two years of growth can reduce the survival rate below half, especially along roads where the soil is compacted and shade is scarce.
Gopal decided to fill exactly this gap. Instead of waiting for government bodies to maintain what they had planted, he took on this responsibility himself, one tank at a time. Gopal's daily rounds were not always met with appreciation; some people mocked his work or considered it meaningless. Furthermore, he had limited resources, and he often covered the costs of water and transportation from his potter's income. Nevertheless, he continued his work, filling his tank every day and heading to the same road sections to care for the saplings dependent on regular watering.
This nickname reflects both the affection and respect from those who observed his labor without expecting reward or recognition. It also hints at the broader purpose of his efforts: healthy, mature trees along roads purify the air, provide shade for pedestrians, and gradually cool cities losing their green space due to construction and traffic. Although Gopal rarely speaks of himself in such terms, preferring to discuss the trees he cares for, the name has stuck because it accurately conveys the benefit his work brings to the city.
Gopal's story redefines what environmental action can be. It does not always require huge budgets, government programs, or grandiose reforestation goals. Sometimes, all it takes is a person willing to show up daily with a water tank and patiently watch a sapling turn into a tree. After twelve years, Gopal continues his rounds through Banaras, proving that protecting nature does not require great wealth; it only requires consistency, compassion, and the courage to keep acting.
