Sir,

The write-up titled “Remembering two IAS Officers of the 1970s” by K.B. Ganapathy in Star of Mysore dated June 19, 2023, made a very interesting read.

The time (1970s) KBG has written about was indeed a period of very good, people-friendly officers, B.R. Prabhakara and V.P. Baligar, to name a couple of others.

I feel happy to add to the musings of KBG by recalling the remarkable services rendered to this city by S.K. Ramalinge Gowda, the DFO in mid 80s — SOM once called him ‘The Tree Man’. If one single person can be named to have been responsible for the new city of Mysuru to be as green as it is today, it should be this man.

Ramalinge Gowda strived, against all odds, to bring up roadside trees on most of the interior roads in the extensions of city and to develop tree cover in vast stretches of vacant open land in city, under the Social Forestry Scheme.

As I remember, the lands that got tree cover under his administration include the sprawling North Banks of Kukkarahalli Lake, series of lands adjoining the Open Air Theatre in Manasagangothri, areas around German Press, the land behind Jalapuri opposite the ATI, almost the whole stretch of land adjoining the Railway line to Ashokapuram, Railway grounds opposite the Sandal Oil factory and large areas in the foothills of Chamundi.

Ramalinge Gowda, IFS, was a simple man carrying out his mission without much fanfare. When we, a group of youngsters, decided to bring up tree cover on the vacant land behind the Ursu Boarding School, we approached the then Divisional Forest Officer (DFO).

The second instance we went to the Office, Ramalinge Gowda had taken over from the earlier Officer, who had already assured us to make available saplings free of cost, provided we made arrangements to carry them from the nursery. The instant we entered the DFO’s room this time, the smart looking, well-dressed new Officer stood up, shook our hands and requested we boys to get seated (I was hardly 24 then). He appreciated us for the initiative, promised help and suggested us to dig pits that  suit the saplings.

Alas, the next evening even as we were preparing to dig pits on the field, a beaming Ramalinge Gowda turned up there in his Jeep, walked around the ground and gave us guidance regarding the way we could proceed and suggested us to meet him after digging about a hundred pits.

It was after a fortnight that we met him again requesting help. To our utter surprise again, the very next day we had the Department van arriving on to the field carrying about 200 saplings of various kinds! The great move motivated us to cover a large area and within a few years then on, the area turned out to look like a mini-forest. I was the NSS Officer at NIE for the next three years and the number of students who joined me in tree planting activities exceeded a hundred.

NIE-NSS participated in many activities of the Forest Department and the tree cover now you see on the South Western banks of Lingambudhi Lake is a result of the activities of the NSS team from NIE. Simplicity and approachability are indeed the most sought after qualities of a civil servant! It is not very often we find Officers with these qualities.

– Yadupathi Putty, Krishnamurthypuram, 25.6.2023

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