Benguluru
Five eminent people from Karnataka are among the Padma awardees this year (2018).
Saalumarada Thimmakka (social work — environment) Fondly called the Tree Woman’, 108-year-old Thimmakka is a green
crusader who has planted over 400 trees on a 4-km stretch between Hulikal and Kudur in Bengaluru Rural district. Thimmakka and her husband decided to plant and nurture banyan saplings like their own children after they failed to have kids of their own. A recipient of many awards, she’s the oldest living environmentalist in Karnataka.