107-Yr-Old Environmentalist Receives Padma Shri
107 year old woman from Karnataka, was awarded the Padma Shri from President Ram Nath Kovind for her contribution to the environment.
107 years old Thimmakka from Karnataka, is affectionately called Salu Marada Thimmakka. Where Saalu means in a line, Mara means tree and Akka means older sister.Thimmakka wanted to die at the age of 40, because she could not have a child. Since she did not have any children of her own, she and her husband planted more than 400 trees from Kudur to Hulikal in Karnataka.
She and her husband would walk 5 kms everyday to water these plants and took care of them like their children. She says that she likes to plant trees because it makes her happy. She likes to take care of the trees till they are old. Growing trees is not easy. This is because Karnataka is a dry state and it takes a lot of water to water 400 trees. This woman dedicated her life to planting trees.Thimmakka wakes up every day at 5 am drinks her coffee, and then the whole day spends her time by growing more trees and taking care of the old trees.
Last week President of India Ram Nath Kovind awarded her the Padma Shri for her environmental work. She was the first person to receive the award barefoot. She blessed the President when she received the award.
