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Environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka, 114, dies at Bengaluru private hospital
Saalumarada Thimmakka, known for planting 385 banyan trees and 8,000 other trees over 80 years, was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2019
Bengaluru: Environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka, known for planting 385 banyan trees and 8,000 other trees over 80 years and who was conferred the Padma Shri in 2019, died on Friday at a private hospital in Karnataka’s Bengaluru.
She was 114, and her family said she had been unwell for some time and was receiving treatment.
Thimmakka was born on 30 June 1911 in Gubbi taluk in Karnataka’s Tumakuru district. With no formal schooling and unable to have children, she began planting saplings as a way to fill an emotional void. Over the years, she raised her trees like her own children.
Thimmakka’s husband passed away in 1991, after which she continued her passion for conserving the environment.
Her commitment eventually reshaped a stretch of rural Karnataka. She became widely known as Saalumarada, meaning “row of trees,” after planting and nurturing 385 banyan trees along a 4.5-kilometre route between Hulikal and Kudur in Bengaluru South district.
The recognition she received was both national and sustained. Thimmakka was honoured with several awards, including the Nadoja Award from Hampi University in 2010, the National Citizen Award in 1995, and the Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award in 1997.
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The Central University of Karnataka also announced an honorary doctorate for her in 2020. Thimmakka was appointed Karnataka’s environment ambassador with a government cabinet rank in 2022 by the Basavaraj Bommai-led government.
Tributes poured in soon after her death.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he was deeply saddened by the passing of “Salumara Timmakka,” adding that she had devoted her entire life to planting and protecting thousands of trees. Her connection to nature, he said, had made her “immortal,” and the state had become “poorer” with her loss.
