His love for trees puts babus to shame

 

Koppal: He puts the regular staff of the forest department to shame. Devappa Avvaji (50),  a contract worker with the department has been nurturing saplings planted by the roadsides for  20 years  and thanks to him Koppal’s streets don’t lack for green cover. 

 

From Bochanahalli village in the taluk, Devappa is illiterate, but never fails to impress people with his devotion to the saplings planted along the roads leading to Yelburga, Sandur and Kustagi among many others. 

 

Joined by his wife he removes weeds growing around the saplings and, sometimes even fetches water from a distance to keep them healthy.  Although he is not sure about the exact number of saplings he has nurtured, Devappa says it could be in the range of 40,000. 

 

Devappa who has two sons and a physically challenged daughter, says he receives full support from his family in doing his labour of love. “My two sons come to work with me whenever they are free. Greenery is necessary for us to live on this earth. 

 

“It will rain if there are trees in abundance,” he says, displaying far more wisdom than the more educated or even regular employees of the forest department who often shirk on their job of planting trees in the area.