Days after undergoing cardiac surgery, centenarian Saalumarada Thimmakka, living up to the prefix to her name which means ‘avenue of trees’, is planning to plant 100 Banyan saplings along the 5-kilometre stretch between Hulikal and Kudur, in Magadi taluk of Ramanagara district, abutting Bengaluru.
This is the same stretch where Thimmakka, along with her husband, had planted around 400 Banyan saplings decades ago. Having not been formally educated, she worked as a daily wage labourer back then. The couple, who did not have children, decided to plant trees as their legacy. She is said to have planted over 8,000 trees, apart from the ones on this stretch, and has turned into an influential voice on fostering our environment. She was honoured with the Padma Shri for her efforts in 2019, among several other awards.
With some of the trees she planted decades back having fallen in the last few years, Thimmakka wants to replace them with new saplings. “I will go and plant new Banyan saplings there. They are already ready in our nursery. I would have done it earlier if not for my health issues. As soon as I feel better, I will take it up,” Thimmakka told The Hindu.
She also wants to extend the plantation drive beyond the stretch where she had initially planted Banyan trees.
According to the records available with the Forest Department, around 380 trees were planted by Thimmakka on the stretch. As of today, the stretch has 291 trees. Forest Department officials said that some trees were uprooted due to natural causes.
“They are all old trees and do not require any maintenance. Over the years, due to weather conditions, like strong wind and rain, some trees were uprooted. A few were weakened by pest attack. Eventually, such trees did not survive,” a senior official from the Ramanagara sub-division of the Forest Department said.
However, Thimmakka’s foster son, Umesh B.N., had a different story. He alleged that the government had not done enough to maintain Thimmakka’s trees.
“We know of instances when trees were intentionally cut down. The Forest Department is hasty in its actions. If anyone randomly complains, they cut down trees without investigation,” he alleged.
A Forest Department official said, “We have protected all the trees Thimmakka has planted along the stretch. We will look after the saplings that she intends to plant now as well.”
Thimmakka has fought time and again for the protection of the trees. In 2019, when there was a proposal to widen the stretch of road on which she had planted trees, she appealed to the then Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy that the government instead widen an alternate road to avoid felling her trees. The government did not axe any of the trees she planted.
“She continues to carry the same zeal as decades ago even at this age, and despite poor health. Her heritage should be rightly recognised the way some sites are declared as heritage sites. No damage should come to them even in the years to come,” Umesh said.
