Tree man of Telangana, Daripalli Ramaiah’s legacy erased before his death

Vanajeevi Daripalli Ramaiah with the trees he planted in the background.
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ARRANGEMENT

Daripalli Ramaiah, also called Vanajeevi Ramaiah for his monumental efforts towards afforestation in Khammam district, and for his campaign for plantation drives, may have received the most uncharitable tribute before his death. That too from the very same government that had honoured his work with the ‘Padma Shri’ award eight years before.

Hundreds of seedlings he had planted 25-30 years ago on the road margins of his village and beyond, which had grown into magnificent trees, got axed towards the end of 2024 for the widening of the national highway.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had approved the ongoing widening of the Khammam-Kuravi stretch and sanctioned ₹140 crore for the same. This is part of the 39 national highway projects sanctioned by the Central government at ₹5,658 crore.

The 37 km section of National Highway 365A was to be expanded from single lane to double lane, as per the project specification. The road had a thick canopy of fully grown trees, planted and nurtured for decades by Mr. Ramaiah.

“The road was totally covered from end to end by the canopies of the trees on both sides. Officials from the National Highways visited our father and informed him that the road had to be widened if accidents were to be prevented. He could not say no to it, but felt miserable for days,” recalled Daripalli Kanakaiah, Mr. Ramaiah’s son.

Mr. Ramaiah, 87, requested the authorities to allow him to replant the road margins once the road work was finished, but did not live long enough to fulfil his wish.

Kanakaiah remembered that his father would start at 6 a.m., carrying water cans on his bicycle, and water the saplings up to 11 a.m. Post lunch and a short nap, his work would begin again. Ramaiah even sold part of his land for this endeavour and grew trees in the rest of the land. During his lifetime, he planted and donated crores of saplings and seeds.

Many of the planted varieties on the road were rain trees and pongamia, apart from native species such as tamarind, bael and other fruit bearing trees. A tamarind tree which is now gone, was right near the door step of Mr. Ramaiah at Reddypalli, in the shade of which the barefoot environmentalist rested often.

Naresh Jilla, the biographer and close associate of Mr. Ramaiah, recalled that he had conducted a photo shoot for the book in January 2024, with the trees in the background.

“Later, I got busy with my work and the book, and could not visit the place till Mr. Ramaiah passed away in April. I was in for a shock to learn that all the trees had gone by then,” Mr. Jilla said, recalling that the trees, around a thousand, were planted between Reddypalli and Nayudupet villages, covering four km.

“The government, which had granted him Padma Shri for his lifelong effort, thought it fit to erase the same to facilitate a road. How much more dystopian could it get? In any other country, trees would have been saved for their heritage, but not here,” said Udaykrishna Peddireddi from Vata Foundation, who brought the incident to light.