Green crusader now admitted to Bangalore hospital

Saalumarada Thimmakka, 82-year-old environmentalist, was admitted to Victoria Hospital on Monday evening with severe body and leg pain, and high blood pressure.

“Thimmakka’s blood pressure was very high and she had cough and phlegm accumulation. She also had been suffering from skin allergy for the past two days,” said her son Vanaseri Umesh.
Dr BG Tilak, medical superintendent, Victoria Hospital, said, “Thimmakka underwent several tests including ECG and X-ray on Tuesday.  We are yet to decide on her treatment procedure.”

Thimmakka had been honoured with the National Citizen’s Award for championing the cause of growing trees. She also has one US-based environmental organisation —- Thimmakka’s Resources for Environmental Education —- named after her.

Thimmakka, who does not have any formal education and worked as a labourer in a quarry, had taken up planting and maintaining banyan trees along the Bangalore-Nelamangala highway as her life’s mission, and planted about 300 trees. She and her husband reportedly walked four km to water the trees every day.

In January, Thimmakka had staged an indefinite hunger strike demanding the setting up of a government hospital in her village,Hulikal, in Magadi taluk. She had requested the government for a monthly pension of Re20 ,000 and a house in the city.