Home Minister G. Parameshwara and Forest Minister Eshwar B. Khandre paying his last respects to Saalumarada Thimmakka, in Bengaluru on Saturday, November 15, 2025.
| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
Environmentalist and Padma Shri recipient Saalumarada Thimmakka was laid to rest with full state honours at Kalagrama on the Jnana Bharathi campus here on Saturday.
The 114-year-old passed away in a private hospital on Friday owing to age-related ailments. Thimmakka earned the prefix ‘Saalumarada’ after she and her husband planted 385 banyan trees all along the 4.5 km stretch between Hulikal and Kudur in Bengaluru South district.
Home Minister G Parameshwara, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre and several MLAs were among those who were present at the burial of Thimmakka.
Mr. Khandre said that an award would be instituted in the name of Saalumarada Thimmakka. As a mark of tribute, 114 saplings would be planted and nurtured at 114 locations across Karnataka, symbolising each year of Thimmakka’s life, the Minister said.
He recalled that the Forest Department had earlier honoured her as an ‘Environment Ambassador’.
Published – November 15, 2025 11:25 pm IST
