Organic farmer 'Padma Shri' Pappammal dies at 108; CM Stalin expresses sorrow

CHENNAI: Organic farmer and DMK member 'Padmashri' Pappammal passed away late on Friday. She was 108.

On September 17, she had received the Periyar award at the annual Mupperum Vizha in Chennai.

Condoling the demise of Pappammal, Chief Minister M K Stalin in a statement said, “I suffer the pain of losing a member of my family. The memories of interacting with Pappammal at Anna Arivalayam and my residence will remain evergreen in my heart forever.”

Recalling that he had praised the agriculturalist as the 'symbol of Tamil Nadu' at the DMK's Mupperum Vizha event, Stalin said "by leaving, she has pushed us all into inexplicable sorrow."

Referring to the Padma Shri conferred upon her by the Union government in appreciation of her life and service to the society in 2021, the Chief Minister said that from the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965 to the recent anti-NEET protests, she ‘faced’ all protests with vigour.

Born in 1914, Pappammal hailed from Thekkampatti, a village situated on the banks of river Bhavani, in Coimbatore district. She was elected as the Thekkampatty panchayat councillor in 1959 and the Karamadai panchayat union member in Coimbatore in 1964, and later, as the vice chairman of Thekkampatty panchayat.

She had also worked as a member of the farmers consultation committee of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University for 45 years since 1970.

Pappammal toiled in agricultural fields until her last breath.

Several politicians and leaders including Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan expressed their condolences for Pappammal's demise on social media.

(With Online Desk inputs)