Amai Mahalinga Naika, a septuagenarian farmer of Bantwal taluk in Dakshina Kannada, was one of those who got the Padma Shri from President Ramnath Kovind on Monday at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Naika received the award for his four-year standout performance in digging seven 30-meter-long tunnels to provide water to his barren two-acre plot of land.
President Ram Nath Kovind also presented Abdul Khader Nadakattin of Dharwad, Karnataka, with the Padma Shri Award for his contributions to agriculture.
He is recognized for over 40 ideas that helped small and marginal farmers of India.
"I am an ordinary farmer," said Padma Shri awardee Abdul Khader Nadakattin, "yet the Indian government has rewarded me with the Padma Shri award for the research I have done on agricultural machinery over the previous 35 years."
"I'd want to dedicate this to all of the country's farmers," he continued.
Shri Subbanna Ayyappan from Karnataka for his contribution to science and engineering, Shri H R Keshavamurthy for Art in Karnataka, and Shri Siddhalingaiah, posthumously for his work in the fields of literature and education in the state are among the other Padma Shri awardees from the state.
At a ceremony in New Delhi on Monday, singer Sonu Nigam and veteran actor Victor Banerjee were among those awarded the Padma Shri Award and the Padma Bhushan Award, respectively.
At the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Neeraj Chopra, a Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, was also honored with the Padma Shri.
He was one of eight athletes awarded the Padma Shri for their accomplishments in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021. Dancers from Kathak and Kuchipudi were also recognized for their contributions to the preservation of the arts.
