Padma Shri awardee Saalumarada Thimmakka no more
Thimmakka earned the fame ‘Saalumarada’, meaning row of trees, after she planted 385 banyan trees all along the 4.5 km stretch between Hulikal and Kudur in Bengaluru South district.
Padma Shri awardee and environmentalist ‘Saalumarada’ Thimmakka died at a private hospital on Friday.
Thimmakka was ailing for quite some time and was hospitalised for treatment where she breathed her last today, her family sources said.
Born on June 30, 1911, Thimmakka earned the fame ‘Saalumarada’, meaning row of trees, after she planted 385 banyan trees all along the 4.5 km stretch between Hulikal and Kudur in Bengaluru South district.
With no formal education, Thimmakka started the plantation campaign as she treated them as her children to fill the void in life for being childless.
For her work, she received 12 awards, including Padma Shri in 2019, Nadoja award by the Hampi University (2010), National Citizen Award (1995) and Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra award (1997).
Mourning her demise, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the funeral of Thimmakka will be conducted with full state honours.
In his condolence message, Siddaramaiah said, "I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the demise of Salumarada Thimmakka. Thimmakka, who planted thousands of trees and nurtured them like her own children, dedicated most of her life to environmental conservation."
He said even though Thimmakka had left for the heavenly abode, her love for the environment has made her immortal.
The region has become poorer with the demise of Thimmakka, he added.
Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, his son and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Karnataka ministers, MPs and MLAs and several political leaders mourned the demise of Thimmakka.