Telangana’s green crusader and Padma shri awardee Daripalli Ramaiah, who planted over one crore trees across six decades, died of a heart attack today at his village in the Khammam district at the age of 87.

According to his family, he suffered a heart attack at his residence in Reddipalli village and was taken to a hospital, where he was declared as brought dead. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and several other key leaders condoled his death.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Daripalli Ramaiah Garu will be remembered as a champion of sustainability. He devoted his life to planting and protecting lakhs of trees.

His tireless efforts reflected a deep love for nature and care for future generations. His work will keep motivating our youth in their quest to build a greener planet. My thoughts are with his family and admirers in this sad hour.”

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that Darpalli Ramaiah strongly believed that the survival of mankind was impossible without nature and mankind. He inspired the youth by dedicating his entire life to the cause of protecting the environment, and his death was an irreparable loss to society, said Reddy.

A potter by profession, Ramaiah earned the sobriquet ‘Vanajeevi’ for his dedication to the cause of afforestation. He would often wear a board around his neck that read “Vriksho Rakshati Rakshitah (save trees then trees will save you)” to spread awareness about planting trees. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2017 in recognition of his contribution towards conserving the environment.