Daripalli Ramaiah

Last updated

Darepalli Ramaiah
The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Shri Award to Shri Daripalli Ramaiah, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 30, 2017.jpg
The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Shri Award to Shri Daripalli Ramaiah, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 30, 2017.
Born (1937-07-01) 1 July 1937 (age 85)
Reddypally, Khammam, Telangana
Nationality Indian
Other namesChetla Ramaiah
Vanajeevi Ramaiah
OccupationTree conservationist
Known for Tree conservation

Daripalli Ramaiah (also known as Chetla Ramaiah, Vanajeevi Ramaiah; born 1937) is an Indian social worker known for his social forestry initiatives. He is the recipient of the Padma Shri award for the year 2017, for his invaluable contribution to extending tree cover. [1] He is locally known as 'Chetla Ramaiah', (transl.Trees Ramaiah). On a mission to bring back the green cover, he is estimated to have planted more than 100 thousand saplings in and around Khammam district with a thrust on trees that provide shade, fruit-bearing plants, and biodiesel plants with assured benefit to future generations. [2]

Contents

Early life

He was born in Reddypally village in Khammam district, Hyderabad State (now in Telangana). [3] He had schooling till 10th standard. [4]

Life

Social forestry campaign

As a relentless campaigner of social forestry for more than five decades, Ramaiah himself cannot recall when it all exactly started. He remembers vaguely that as a child he often saw his mother saving the seeds of vegetable plants for the next growing season. Ever since he was a child, he has been collecting seeds of native trees such as Sandalwood, Albizia saman, Ficus religiosa, Aegle marmelos, Neolamarckia cadamba and many more in his mission to cover every barren land with trees.

Ramaiah believes in seed as the solution to human well being. "Of all the species that consider the Earth as their home, the most exalted is the human being. He supposedly has intellect, can think, can do and can get things done. Nature has bestowed her choicest blessings on this form of life. Therefore, we have a duty towards nature. Protect the nature; protect everything created by God, for the posterity", says Ramaiah. [5] He sold his 3 acres land to buy more saplings and seeds.

Biography Book

Vitthanam nundi Padmam Varaku-Vanajeevi Prayaanam by Naresh Jilla in Telugu. This book describes Ramaiah's life from childhood to Padma Sri and Ramaiah's succession Principles.

Modus Operandi

Ramaiah transformed the famous quote "Plant a tree and save a life" into action rather than lecturing the benefits. Locals know him as a man with pockets full of seeds and who pedals miles together with an overload of saplings on his bicycle. He truly recognises the need to plant trees to save our environment and desperately plants saplings in each and every barren land he passes by. Sometimes he is accompanied by his wife and children from local schools. Though he never had any formal education, Ramaiah in his pursuit has read up umpteen number of books on trees and the process of planting trees. He is considered as a walking encyclopedia on plants.

Recognition and awards

The government of Andhra Pradesh gave him special recognition for his relentless drive and contribution towards the country. After the formation of Telangana, he continued to receive support from the Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao's flagship programmes such as Telangana Ku Haritha Hāram (Green Garland). The objective of Haritha Hāram scheme is to increase the green cover from present 24% to 33% of the total geographical area of the state. [6]

YearAward
1995Seva Award
2005Vanamitra Award [2]
2015National Innovations and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Award
2017Padma Shri [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telangana</span> State in southern India

Telangana is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of 112,077 km2 (43,273 sq mi) and 35,193,978 residents as per 2011 census. On 2 June 2014, the area was separated from the northwestern part of Andhra Pradesh as the newly formed state of Telangana, with Hyderabad as its capital. Its other major cities include Warangal, Nizamabad, Khammam, Karimnagar and Ramagundam. Telangana is bordered by the states of Maharashtra to the north, Chhattisgarh to the northeast, Karnataka to the west, and Andhra Pradesh to the east and south. The terrain of Telangana consists mostly of the Deccan Plateau with dense forests covering an area of 27,292 km2 (10,538 sq mi). As of 2019, the state of Telangana is divided into 33 districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afforestation</span> Establishment of trees where there were none previously

Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no previous tree cover. Many government and non-governmental organizations directly engage in afforestation programs to create forests and increase carbon capture. Afforestation is an increasingly sought-after method to fight climate concerns, as it is known to increase the soil quality and organic carbon levels into the soil, avoiding desertification. Afforestation is mainly done for conservational and commercial purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khammam district</span> District of Telangana in India

Khammam district is a district in the eastern region of the Indian state of Telangana. The city of Khammam is the district headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Mahabubabad, Bhadradri districts and with Eluru and NTR districts in Andhra pradesh state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B. Vinod Kumar</span> Indian politician

Boianapalli Vinod Kumar is an Indian politician and former Member of Parliament, presently serving as Vice-chairman of Telangana State Planning Board. He represented the Karimnagar constituency of Telangana State in the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019) and Hanamkonda constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-2009). He is one of the founding members of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party and is presently a politburo member and served as party's deputy Floor Leader in the 16th Lok Sabha.

The Great Green Wall, officially known as the Three-North Shelter Forest Program, also known as the Three-North Shelterbelt Program, is a series of human-planted windbreaking forest strips (shelterbelts) in China, designed to hold back the expansion of the Gobi Desert, and provide timber to the local population. The program started in 1978, and is planned to be completed around 2050, at which point it will be 4,500 kilometres (2,800 mi) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saalumarada Thimmakka</span> Indian environmentalist

Saalumarada Thimmakka, also known as Aala Marada Thimmakka, is an Indian environmentalist from the state of Karnataka, noted for her work in planting and tending to 385 banyan trees along a forty-five-kilometre stretch of highway between Hulikal and Kudur. She has also planted nearly 8000 other trees. With the support of her husband, she found solace in planting trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thummala Nageswara Rao</span> Indian politician

Thummala Nageswara Rao is Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) politician who has at various times been a minister in the Government of Andhra Pradesh and, later, in the Government of Telangana. He is from the Khammam district.

Chukka Ramaiah is an Indian educationist and member of the Telangana Legislative Council. He is famously known as "IIT Ramaiah" for teaching at IIT Study Circle, an IIT JEE coaching centre at Nallakunta, Hyderabad. He was a leading Telangana activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shri Ram Chandra Mission</span> Spiritual organization from India

Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM) is a non-profit organization and a spiritual movement originating in India, which teaches the practice of "Sahaj Marg" or "Heartfulness Meditation". It was registered in 1945 by Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. It has its current headquarters at Kanha Shanti Vanam, Kanha village, Ranga Reddy District near Hyderabad, Telangana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akira Miyawaki</span> Japanese botanist (1928–2021)

Akira Miyawaki was a Japanese botanist and an expert in plant ecology who specialized in seeds and natural forests. He was active worldwide as a specialist in natural vegetation restoration of degraded land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudhir Mungantiwar</span> Maharashtrian politician

Sudhir Sachchidanand Mungantiwar is a legislator from the state of Maharashtra, India. He is currently cabinet Minister for Forests, Cultural Affairs and Fisheries in Maharashtra Government. He has earlier served as the Cabinet Minister of Finance & Planning and Forests departments in the Government of Maharashtra, Previously, he was the Maharashtra State President for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2010 to 2013 and the Minister of Tourism and Consumer Protection in the Government of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999. In 2014, he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly to serve for a fifth consecutive term. He also holds additional charge as the Guardian Minister of Chandrapur and Wardha districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulsi Gowda</span> Indian environmentalist

Tulsi Gowda is an Indian environmentalist from Honnali village, Ankola taluk in Karnataka state. She has planted more than 30,000 saplings and looks after the nurseries of the Forest Department. Her work has been honoured by the Government of India and other organisations. In 2021, the Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian award. She is known as the "Encyclopedia of the Forest" for her ability to recognise the mother tree of any species of tree.

Madappa Mahadevappa, popularly known as Rice Mahadevappa was an Indian agricultural scientist and plant breeder, renowned for developing high yielding hybrid varieties of rice. He served for more than 55 years and had a glowing career. He served as the Vice-chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad for two terms and his selfless hard work along with broad vision lead to the award of ICAR's SARDAR PATEL OUTSTANDING INSTITUTION award in the year 2000 to UAS, Dharwad. He served as chairman of Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board under Indian Council of Agricultural Research of which he was a member of governing council. As chairman of ASRB, he introduced radical changes to create transparency in recruitment and expedited the process of promotions. This enhanced the talent pool at ICAR system to further contribute to the cause of the agriculture and farming community. He was the recipient of Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, Padma Shri and various other accolades.

Baba Sewa Singh is an Indian social worker and environmentalist, involved in the restoration and maintenance of the historic Gurudwaras at Khadoor Sahib. Baba Sewa Singh is a recipient of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation Sewa Award in 2004. The Government of India honored him in 2010, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.

Haritaharam for Telangana is the afforestation program undertaken by the Telangana government. Haritaharam 2015 was officially inaugurated by Telangana State Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao on 3rd July 2015 at Chilukur Balaji Temple. The Telangana Government has designed this program with the objective of planting trees and greening the whole of Telangana. 46 crore saplings were planted in 2016 alone.[1]

The Singareni Thermal Power Plant (STPP) is a coal-fired power station in Pegadapalli, a village in Mancheriyal District of Telangana, India. The power plant has an installed capacity of 1200 MW, consisting of two 600 MW units, and is operated by the Singareni Collieries Company.

Yin Yuzhen is a Chinese woman known for her personal efforts to combat desertification over the course of 30 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree plantation</span> Tree farming

A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term tree farm also is used to refer to tree nurseries and Christmas tree farms.

Shyam Sunder Jyani is an Indian environmentalist and academic, best known for afforestation efforts in the Indian state of Rajasthan. He is presently an associate professor of sociology at Dungar College, Bikaner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amai Mahalinga Naik</span>

Amai Mahalinga Naik is an innovative farmer from Adyanadka village in Dakshina Kannada district in the Indian State of Karnataka who single-handedly developed an organic agricultural farm with a zero-energy micro-irrigation system. This he achieved by digging tunnels deep into the sloping hills on which his land was located and tapping groundwater trapped in the bowels of the hills through the tunnels. In fact it was only in his sixth attempt in which he dug a tunnel of length 315 feet Naik could strike success. All the previous five attempts in which he dug tunnels of length at least 35 meters ended up in failing to strike a water source. The water sourced through this tunnel was used for watering the plants in his farm. After he struck success in his sixth attempt, he dug one more tunnel to bring water for drinking and household usage. The relentless pursuit of this tunneling operation earned him the nick name "The Tunnel Man of Karnataka". He also single-handedly constructed about 300 percolation trenches in the hills surrounding the farm and two revetments and a tank of 12,000 litres capacity to fill-up the revetments. His work transformed a deserted and barren plot of land into a lush oasis comprising arecanut palms, coconut trees, cashew trees, banana saplings and pepper vines. Naik’s farm has become a model-farmland and attracts over 1,000 visitors a year including several foreign tourists.

References

  1. 1 2 Correspondent, Special. "Padma awards for five from Telangana; Three from AP also honoured". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 Sridhar, P. "Khammam's green warrior soldiers on". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  3. Sridhar, P. (8 October 2017). "Lesson on 'Vanajeevi' in school likely". The Hindu.
  4. "Man with a green thumb: The Padma awardee who planted 10 million saplings". 29 January 2017.
  5. "How many trees have you planted?". The Better India. 6 May 2015.
  6. "Haritaharam".