On Wednesday, during his recent visit to Karnataka, where elections are imminent, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Tulsi Gowda and Sukri Bommagowda, both of whom are recipients of the Padma Shri award.
The meeting took place in Ankola, before a public address by the Prime Minister in Uttara Kannada district. PM Modi sought their blessings during the meeting. Tulsi Gowda, an environmentalist hailing from Honnali village in Karnataka, was honored with the Padma Shri award in 2021.
She is renowned for planting over 30,000 saplings and nurturing forest department nurseries. Due to her extensive knowledge of various plant and herb species, she is also known as the “Encyclopedia of Forests”. Sukri Bommagowda, who is widely referred to as the nightingale of the Halakki Vokkaliga tribes, was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017 for her folk singing.