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V Piyush Sethia, better known as Piyush Manush, is an Indian environmental activist.

Activism

Along with few others in 2010, he formed the Salem Citizen's Forum, a collective of urban citizens that engaged in people welfare activities and improving public delivery systems. The Forum adopted the Mookaneri Lake, a 58-acre located at the foot of the Shevaroy Hills, was conserved from massive pollution. He initiated and has been instrumental in reviving water bodies such as Ammapettai Lake, Kundukkal Lake, Ismailkhan Lake, Arisipalayam Pond and Pallappatti well etc. across districts of Salem and Dharmapuri. He also opposed commercial mining in Kanjamalai hills and stood against encroachments and land mafia. He, along with others, received the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year award on behalf people of Chennai in 2015.

Coop forest

He created the "Coop Forest" in 2009, an initiative for forest preservation, on 1.5 acres of hilly land in Dharmapuri which quickly expanded to 150 acres. Over the years, the Coop Forest has turned into a home for bamboo (Piyush has planted 40,000 bamboo saplings) and guava, lemon, vilvam, neem, rosewood, pungam, custard apple, jack fruit, silk cotton, Singapore cherry, chiku, mango, and other varieties of plants and trees. The Coop Forest experiments with finding alternatives to plastic, steel and cement.

Arrest

On 8 July 2016, Manush was charged with non-bailable sections along with two other activists for protesting against the construction of the Mulluvadi gate over-bridge in Salem by Southern Railway. The arrest caused an uproar on social networks, with some of his co-workers calling for his release. While jailed, Manush was kept in solitary confinement and allegedly tortured, according to his friends and family. He was released on conditional bail on 21 July.

On 18 June 2018, Manush was arrested while protesting the proposed 270-kilometre super highway connecting Salem and Chennai. He was arrested with Actor Mansoor Ali Khan for a speech made by him, 40 days ago in a Village in Salem district. After his arrest, an uproar has broken out in Tamil Nadu, many of the environmentalists and activist has condemned the act and the chief opposition party DMK's working president MK Stalin also issued a statement saying that the DMK will conduct a statewide protest if the police do not stop harassing the people.

Attack by BJP

On 25 August 2019, Piyush Manush visited the Salem BJP office to "ask their thoughts on the economy and the Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir," as well as to confront them about threats he reportedly got from BJP members. Piyush was live streaming as he went to the office and got into an argument with the BJP workers; the stream ended with BJP workers garlanding him with chappals and attacking him, causing him to drop his phone. Other recordings that aired on television afterwards showed BJP members attacking Piyush Manush in the sight of multiple police officers who tried to stop the attack. Politicians and activists showed their support for Piyush Manush and criticized the BJP for the violent attack as the videos circulated on social media.

References

1. "'30 people beat me in jail', says social activist Piyush Manush". Deccan Chronicle. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
2. "Bhoomi Award Ceremony and Bhoomi College Open Day". Retrieved 21 August 2020.
3. "Activist Piyush Manush arrested for 'attacking' house owner". The New Indian Express. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
4. Zachariah, Preeti (7 November 2015). "Salem's green warrior". Mint. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
5. "Green with Manush". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
6. "Environmentalists in Salem keen to protect Mookaneri Lake". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
7. "Meet Piyush Sethia, Salem's Green Warrior". The logical Indian. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
8. "Back from the brink". Frontline. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
9. "How Piyush Manush Used Eco-Spirituality To Revive Lakes And Forests In Tamil Nadu". EARTHA. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
10. "#IndianOfTheYear People of Chennai". Twitter. CNN-IBN. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
11. Zachariah, Preeti (7 November 2015). "Salem's green warrior". Live Mint. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
12. "Growing green".
13. Parthasarathy, Anusha (8 November 2013). "Growing green". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
14. "An act of excessive revenge". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
15. ^ Ghoshal, Somak (19 July 2016). "Who Is Piyush Manush And Why Are So Many Lobbying For His Release?". HuffPost India. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
16. "Outfit seeks release of Salem activist". Times of India. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
17. "I was beaten up by 30 prison officials". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
18. "Attack on Manush: State rights body issues notice". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
19. "Piyush Manush and Mansoor Khan arrested for speech made 40 days ago: Details of FIR". The News Minute. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
20. Lobo, Shalini (19 June 2018). "Furore breaks over Chennai Salem Greenfield Corridor after the arrest of activist Piyush Manush". India Today. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
21. "Activist Piyush Manush attacked by TN BJP workers, garlanded with chappals". The News Minute. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
22. Rahman, Kaleel (16 June 2021). "பிரதமர் மோடியை சந்திக்கும் ஸ்டாலின்: தமிழ்நாட்டின் கோரிக்கைகளை ஏற்குமா மத்திய அரசு?". Puthiyathalaimurai (in Tamil). Retrieved 16 June 2021.

• Living people
• Indian environmentalists