Meet Padma Awardee Amai Mahalinga Naik, Who Converted His Barren Land Into Flourishing Farm

Karnataka's Amai Mahalinga Naik is a 70-year-old skilled labourer who has converted his barren land into a flourishing farm in Kepu Village, near Adyandka, some distance off from Mangaluru. He has been honoured with the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award by the union government for his contributions towards agriculture.

The award list was published on January 25; clueless about his selection, Naik was happy and remembered his landlord, who had given him the piece of barren hilltop in the 70s. Amai Mahabala Bhat gifted him a two-acre barren land in 1978.

Naik is often referred to as 'Suranga Man' or 'Tunnel Man' because to convert his barren land into a flourishing farm, he resorted to the traditional approach by digging horizontal tunnels into hillocks to get water.

His determination and perseverance not only helped him find water but ensured sufficient supply after he completed digging all the tunnels. The 40-year-old model farm has yielded rich results in the form of Naik's self-sustaining life and raising arecanut, coconut, cashew and banana plants on his two-acre land.

Appreciation

Amai Mahalinga Naik's farm is the living proof of a man's incredible optimism and has established him as a role model for small farmers. His farm draws thousands of visitors, mainly farmers, to know more about the farming methods, particularly ensuring water supply and conserving water. Naik and his farm was the subject of a documentary telecast on the History channel in April 2018.

Naik's story was made public by Shree Padre, agriculture expert and editor, 'Adike Patrika', an agricultural magazine. Times of India quoted Padre, "He developed a sustainable, lively resource from zero. Today he has a good garden, water resource and sustainable agriculture that is man-made. For me, he is a one-man army on a hilltop. But for his sheer optimism and determination, the greenery there could not have been developed. When he was digging suranga after suranga which failed, people ridiculed him," who has followed Naik's work for several years.

Netizens Shower Naik With Best Wishes

People from varied professions, including Karnataka Chief Minister, Union Ministers, and journalists, congratulated Naik.

Famously known as the Miracle Man of Mangaluru, Sri Amai Mahalinga Naik has been awarded with Padma Shri for his contribution in Agriculture

Toiling for more than 40 years, he was successful in converting a barren land atop a hill into a lush green organic farm#PeoplesPadma 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/O67Iro4ONF

— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) January 25, 2022

What a life, what an achievement.

Karnataka's 'single man army' Amai Mahalinga Naik, who has been conferred with the Padma Shri Award.#PadmaAwards pic.twitter.com/w3AinMaq9y

— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) January 25, 2022

#PadmaAwards #AmaiMahalingaNaik https://t.co/Js13P91gRS pic.twitter.com/0IbWqLo8w0

— Deepthi Sanjiv (@deepthisTOI) January 26, 2022

#Mangaluru A blank momento was handed over to Amai Mahalinga Naik who has been chosen for Padmashree Award when he was honoured during RD event. @DCDK9 attributed the gaffe to lack of time @XpressBengaluru @santwana99 pic.twitter.com/JYPknCSrjl

— vincent dsouza (@vinndz_TNIE) January 26, 2022

Over the years, Amai Mahalinga Naik's achievements have caught the eyes of national and international media. Now, he has over a dozen oscillating sprinkler showers which splash water on 300 arecanut palms, 75 coconut trees, 150 cashew trees, 200 banana saplings and pepper vines growing in his two-acres land.

Also Read: Eminent Tabla Player Anindo Chatterjee Refuses Padma Shri, Says "I Have Passed The Phase"