India, Nov. 14 -- Environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka, known for planting 385 banyan trees and 8,000 other trees over 80 years and who was conferred the Padma Shri in 2019, died on Friday at a private hospital in Karnataka's Bengaluru.

She was 114, and her family said she had been unwell for some time and was receiving treatment.

Thimmakka was born on 30 June 1911 in Gubbi taluk in Karnataka's Tumakuru district. With no formal schooling and unable to have children, she began planting saplings as a way to fill an emotional void. Over the years, she raised her trees like her own children.

Thimmakka's husband passed away in 1991, after which she continued her passion for conserving the environment.

Her commitment eventually reshaped a...