GANGTOK (Sikkim): Renowned organic farmer Padma Shri Tula Ram Upreti, from Assam Lingzey village in Pakyong district, was laid to rest with full State honours on Sunday.
The 100-year-old passed away on Saturday. Chief Minister Prem Singh Golay and other ministers joined the funeral procession on Sunday. Upreti was draped in the National flag and given a 21-gun salute at his funeral in Jalipool Ghat in Gangtok District. Upreti was a champion of organic farming for over eight decades.
He was also given the title of father of organic farming in Sikkim, as he adopted the practice 20 years before the ‘Organic Mission’ was initiated in Sikkim. He pioneered the cultivation of paddy and other vegetables organically, without using fertilisers, carrying forward the legacy of organic farming in Sikkim.
Upreti continued the legacy of his forefathers in organic farming even into his nineties. His family members said that he stopped regular farming about five to six years ago due to recurring knee-related ailments.
Prior to Sikkim’s integration into India, in the erstwhile kingdom, Upreti used to trade with Yatung in Tibet in the 1940s and 1950s. He had to travel on foot to Tibet with a cargo of rice, buckwheat, and maize, taking the silk route. He used to cultivate his field, spread over 12 hectares, with his bare hands and cattle, along with his helpers.
The organic farmer from Sikkim also served as a local panchayat member from Lingzey ward under Assam Lingzey Gram Panchayat Unit for 25 years. He was also a two-time panchayat president and retired from social service in 1996.
Tula Ram Upreti studied till the fifth standard at Tashi Namgyal Higher Secondary School (now TN Senior Secondary School).Upreti is survived by eight sons and seven daughters and has over 100 family members. One of his sons, KN Upreti, served as a minister and legislator from the Rhenock Assembly constituency from 1979-99. (ANI)