Punjab

"Didi, please do mention everyone’s name. This is not just something that I am doing. We have managed to do such good work over the last one year because of each member's contribution.”

When Ashish Sood first landed in Australia, he was forced to sleep on a bench in Brisbane. Things have changed since then, but not his desire to give back to society!

It took an extraordinary 22-year-old effort for this forgotten story to emerge from the pages of history. #WW1 #India #History

“The joy one feels in sharing food is not felt in anything else. Since we started this ‘Maa ki Rasoi’ on 18th September, we have been distributing food every Tuesday and Friday.

“The most basic fact which causes crop stubble burning, especially paddy straw, is the unavailability of its market. Unlike other agro-residues like wheat straw and bagasse, paddy straw is not used as an industrial raw material or even cattle feed.”

A baby would have been one among the 59 who left their families bereft if it wasn’t for 55-year-old Meena Devi who saved his life.

"The fight is not just for my son. Why can't agencies take steps to avoid such tragedies? Why can't we have a protocol to identify and fill our potholes?"

Gurbachan realised the harms of stubble burning to the environment, long before the practice was criticised for causing air pollution in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

For the 1990-batch Punjab Civil Services officer, who was promoted to the IAS in 1996, the reputation is one of honesty, fearlessness and a stickler for rules and their implementation.

There seems to be immense potential to expand such initiatives around the country, perhaps with individual communities, like this inspiring group of children, coming together to do it themselves!