Ex-Google Employee Arun Krishnamurthy Revives 93 Waterbodies Across 14 Indian States

Anyone who cares about the environment is doing their bit by trying to save it in a small yet meaningful way. One such example is of Chennai-based environmentalist Arun Krishnamurthy, who launched an eco-movement, which has cleaned and restored at least 93 freshwater bodies across 14 Indian states.

Arun, who is an ex-Google employee, quit his high-paying job and devoted his life to saving the environment to just see the clean lakes with fish, frogs, birds, and greenery. His love for waterbodies started much early in life because he grew up in a neighbourhood surrounded by them.

[Source: iucn.org]

The 32-year-old environmental enthusiast left his comfortable job at Google just to see a cleaner and greener environment and so, he started making efforts to revive waterbodies in Chennai and later in other cities as well like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and so on.
The community-led movement works closely with the centre and state governments and does not receive any funding. They depend on the government for permissions and approvals.

Their work involves clearing the garbage and weeds from the waterbodies and strengthening the bunds in several waterbodies.

An increase in awareness has led to more and more people and organisations to support the initiative. Arun's lake restoration efforts won him The Rolex Awards for Enterprise 2012 which assists individuals with innovative projects that improve life on the planet, offer solutions to major challenges, expand knowledge, or preserve the natural and cultural heritage for future generations.

His efforts are supported by partner organisations including The Hinduja Foundation, Shriram Group, The Murugappa Group, among others through funds and volunteers.

They are working on 39 active projects and will start full-time operations in Mysuru, Vijayawada, and Kanyakumari.