Amai Mahalinga Naik (born 1945) is an innovative farmer from Adyanadka village in Dakshina Kannada district in the Indian State of Karnataka who single-handedly developed an organic agricultural farm with a zero-energy micro-irrigation system. This he achieved by digging tunnels deep into the sloping hills on which his land was located and tapping groundwater trapped in the bowels of the hills through the tunnels. In fact it was only in his sixth attempt in which he dug a tunnel of length 315 feet Naik could strike success. All the previous five attempts in which he dug tunnels of length at least 35 meters ended up in failing to strike a water source. The water sourced through this tunnel was used for watering the plants in his farm. After he struck success in his sixth attempt, he dug one more tunnel to bring water for drinking and household usage. The relentless pursuit of this tunneling operation earned him the nick name "The Tunnel Man of Karnataka".[1][2] He also single-handedly constructed about 300 percolation trenches in the hills surrounding the farm and two revetments and a tank of 12,000 litres capacity to fill-up the revetments. His work transformed a deserted and barren plot of land into a lush oasis comprising arecanut palms, coconut trees, cashew trees, banana saplings and pepper vines. Naik’s farm has become a model-farmland and attracts over 1,000 visitors a year including several foreign tourists.
In the year 2022, Govt of India honoured Amai Mahalinga Naik by conferring the Padma Shri award for his contributions in the category referred to as "other fields".[3]
^"Shri Amai Mahalinga Naik nominated by ICAR-CCARI, Goa conferred with Padma Shri Award - 2022". Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
^"Amai Mahalinga Naik Aka The Tunnel Man of Karnataka Wins Padma Shri". The CSR Journal. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
^Cite error: The named reference PadmaShri2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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AmaiMahalingaNaik (born 1945) is an innovative farmer from Adyanadka village in Dakshina Kannada district in the Indian State of Karnataka who single-handedly...
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