Mysuru Group and Irular Fisherman Honored for Environmental Stewardship

On September 29, 2025, the Rotary Club of Madras East (RCME) presented the 31st edition of the Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Award for Environmental Protection. Two remarkable initiatives were honored at the event.

The first award was given to Sahaja Samrudha, a people's movement based in Mysuru, for their efforts in preserving India's traditional farming practices and conserving the rich biodiversity of indigenous crop varieties. In his acceptance speech, N. Devakumar from Sahaja Samrudha highlighted the organization's instrumental role in conserving traditional paddy varieties and millets.

The second recipient of the award was Veerappan, a 60-year-old Irular fisherman from Kalaignar Nagar village. He was recognized for his contributions in the field of environmental protection. During his acceptance speech, Mr. Veerappan explained how his team has been propagating mud crabs and how he now trains college students in crab and fish propagation.

The Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Award is presented annually to individuals, companies, or NGOs that have made significant contributions to enhancing environmental protection and awareness. This initiative is supported by CavinKare Pvt. Ltd.

Soumya Swaminathan, chairperson of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, emphasized the importance of the mangrove protection work initiated in the early 1990s in villages like MGR Nagar and Kalaignar Nagar in Cuddalore district, which played a vital role in safeguarding the villagers during the tsunami. She also highlighted the ongoing efforts to address plastic pollution, with her team recently cleaning 100 beaches with the help of local volunteers, collecting more than 30,000 kg of plastic waste, including 10,000 kg of ghost gear (waste nets thrown away by fishermen).