A farmer from Karnataka named Amai Mahalinga Naik has been conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award, the fourth-highest civilian award of the country for his distinguished service, for transforming barren land into an organic tree farm. The government released the list of Padma recipients on January 25.
According to reports, 70-year-old Naik worked diligently to irrigate arid land in the Kepu hamlet of Karnataka. Agriculture expert Shree Padre, who has been tracking Naik’s work said, ‘He developed a sustainable, lively resource from zero. For me, he is a one-man army on a hilltop. But for his sheer optimism and determination, the greenery there could not have been developed. When he was digging suranga [tunnel] after suranga which failed, people ridiculed him’.
The area, which was brought to life by Naik’s efforts, today boasts a diverse range of plants and vines.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Jal Shakti Minister, praised Naik in a tweet. ‘What a life, what an achievement. Karnataka’s ‘single man army’ Amai Mahalinga Naik, who has been conferred with the Padma Shri Award. He has proved that where there is a will, there is a way, even if that means cutting through stones and digging tunnels to source water’, the minister tweeted. Naik was characterised by Shekhawat as a water warrior.
He has proved that where there is a will, there is a way, even if that means cutting through stones and digging tunnels to source water.
I bow down to this water warrior.#PadmaAwards
— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) January 25, 2022
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Tulsi Gowda, an environmentalist, and Harekala Hajabba, an orange vendor, were among the Padma Shri awardees from Karnataka in 2020. Gowda, who has a deep knowledge of flora and is regarded as the encyclopaedia of woods, has planted over 30,000 seedlings in her lifetime.
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