Environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka has decided to return all the awards that have been conferred on her by the Karnataka government after her demands for a maternity clinic to be set up in her village was given no heed to, Deccan Herald reported. 

Thimmakka, who wants the clinic to be built at Hulikal in Magadi taluk of Bengaluru Rural district, told the newspaper, "The government had honoured me with several awards, in recognition of my efforts in protecting the environment by planting saplings. However, my long-pending request for a maternity hospital for the benefit of women in my village has been ignored by the government. Hence, I have decided to return the awards."

She also added that her "frequent plea for a monthly pension and a house has fallen on deaf ears. What will I do with the awards?”

Also known as 'Saalumarada', meaning rows of trees in Kannada, Thimmakka grew 384 Banyan trees and nurtured them as her ownchildren. 

She is the recipient of the National Citizens Award (1996) and the  Godfrey Phillips Award (2006).