BengaluruL: A team of engineers from Bengaluru who have formed a group named Kartavya, are on a ‘green mission’ propelled by the legendary tree planter Saalumarada Thimmakka. Their aim: to persuade the general public to grow trees in their localities and on their terraces to limit air pollution in Bengaluru.
Last week, the team members, along with Thimmakka, distributed about 1,200 medical saplings in Cubbon Park to encourage planting in urban areas. Thimmakka said that she was happy that the team members were so inspired by her story that they are filled with zeal to encourage citizens to take up tree planting seriously.
Thimmakka, who is a hundred-and-two years old, planted close to 300 banyan trees in Ramanagara district during the 1960s and raised them like her own children. She walked for miles to get water for these saplings and even today, a stretch of 4 km in Hulikal village proudly bears these large trees. For decades, ecologists have been calling upon the government to bestow ‘Heritage’ status on the trees that were planted by Thimmakka.
Thimmakka says, “We must plant more trees and ‘green’ our open spaces to fight air pollution. The government departments say that the pollution levels in Bengaluru, especially in areas which have a higher volume of vehicles such as Peenya and Hosur Road, are reporting a higher amount of pollutants in the air. So I was delighted to be a part of something which involved encouraging people to plant trees.”
The members of Kartavya said that the team decided to distribute medicinal plants so that the people who take the plants, nurture them. “We are planning similar programmes in the city, involving Thimmakka, in the near future,” said a member of the Kartavya group.
‘Get me a hospital in my village’
The legendary planter, Saalumarada Thimmakka has once again requested the state government to fulfill her long-standing wish for a maternity hospital in Hulikal village, where she belongs. Childless Thimmakka raised trees as her own children for more than three decades. She said that the government keeps giving reasons and excuses for years now, but it still hasn’t sanctioned a hospital for her village.
