Padma Shri Awardee & India’s ‘Tree Man’ Daripalli Ramaiah Passed Away at the Age of 87.

Obituary

In April 2025, renowned environmentalist Daripalli Ramaiah, popularly known as “Vanajeevi Ramaiah” and “Chettu Ramaiah”, passed away at the age of 87. He was famously known as the “Tree Man of India” for his lifelong commitment to planting and conserving trees.


      - Born in 1937 in Reddipalli village, located in Khammam Rural Mandal, Telangana, Ramaiah worked as a potter by profession. However, his true calling was in greening the planet, which he pursued as a personal mission.

      - Over the years, Ramaiah is estimated to have planted more than one crore (10 million) trees across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, earning him national and international acclaim as one of India's most devoted environmentalists.

      - He often wore a wooden placard with the Sanskrit quote “Vriksho Rakshati Rakshitah”, which translates to “If you protect trees, they will protect you.” This phrase became symbolic of his deep-rooted belief in environmental conservation.

Main Point :-   (i) For his extraordinary contribution to society, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017 under the category of Social Work. In addition, he received several other accolades including the Vanaseva Award (1995) and the Vanamitra Award (2005).

      (ii) He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate by the Academy of Universal Global Peace (USA) in recognition of his efforts to promote environmental awareness and sustainability on a global scale.

(iii) His inspirational life story has been preserved through education: the Telangana government included a chapter about him in the 6th-grade social studies textbook, and his journey is also featured in the 9th-grade Telugu syllabus in Maharashtra for Telugu-speaking students.

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