On 12 April, environmentalist Daripalli Ramaiya died of a heart attack in Reddypalli village of Telangana. He was 87 years old. Daripalli Ramaiya was called Vanjee due to love for trees and plants. His contribution in environmental protection is considered important. Ramaiya, who lives a simple life, has planted more than one crore trees. Their way of planting trees has also been unique. He used to leave the house with seeds of plants on a bicycle in the morning and by evening his only goal was to work in the direction of making trees as trees. In view of his commendable works towards the environment, the Government of India honored him with Padam Shri in 2017.
Chief Minister paid tribute
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has issued a statement to pay tribute to Daripalli Ramaiya’s death. He said that “Ramaiya believed that the existence of mankind was not possible without nature and environment. He alone started plantation and made the whole society aware. The Padma Shri Award made him a source of inspiration for the youth.”
Life dedicated to environment
Daripalli Ramaiya was born in 1937 in Reddypalli village. Located in Telangana, this village is a symbol of greenery and natural beauty. All the credit for this goes to Ramaiya. He started planting trees in his village. After this, he planted trees in the surrounding areas besides the village. His morning started like the story of a novel. In the morning, he would leave the house with seeds of different plants on a bicycle and sow the seeds in the surrounding empty space. Their responsibility was not only limited to sowing seeds, but after taking the form of the seed plant, they would plant trees, then water the tree and when the tree took a huge form, they would start the exercise to plant new plants in the new place.
Honor nature lover
Ramaiya used to say “planting a tree is like planting life” and they did the same. Khamm district of Telangana is known for the cleanest air. For this, he was honored several times by the state and central government. For his outstanding work, Ramaiya also received the Seva Award in 1995, Vanmitra Award in 2005 and National Innovation and Traditional Knowledge Award in 2015. After the formation of the state of Telangana, he was helped under the state government’s “Telangana Ku Harait Haram” scheme, which aims to increase the state’s green cover from 24 percent to 33 percent. After this, in the year 2017, the Government of India honored Ramaiya with Padma Shri.
