Over one crore trees lose a dear friend. 91-year-old Kunwar Damodar Singh Rathore, the ‘Green Soldier’ who planted about 1,00,00,000 saplings during his lifetime, breathed his last in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand on Wednesday.

Kunwar Damodar Singh Rathore, who was awarded Indira Priyadarshini Vriksh Mitra Award in 2000 for planting almost a crore saplings, was admitted to the hospital on May 25 after he fell ill when he went to douse a forest fire at his village in Bhanora in Didihat tehsil.

In the last days of his life, Rathore suffered severe breathing problems and had difficulty speaking, but that didn’t stop him from showing concern for his friends – the saplings. He carried many plants from his nursery to his hospital room.

On his deathbed, Rathore had just one worry, according to his family. “What will happen to the saplings I have planted? Who will take care of them?”  reports Times of India.

According to locals, just three days before his death, the physically weak but determined green soldier distributed 4,000 saplings to schoolkids who paid him a visit at the hospital.

In the 1960s, Kunwar Damodar Singh Rathore embarked on his singular mission to plant saplings in and around Bhanora, his native village in Didihat tehsil of Uttarakhand. He used to carry a bag which contained a small spade and some saplings. This bag was inseparable from Rathore, gradually becoming a part of his identity. During his lifetime, Rathore managed to plant over eight crore saplings of over 160 species in and around his village. Vast tracks of land in Bhanora, which now boast of a lush green cover, is his lasting legacy.

However, Rathore’s work was not limited to his own village. He even formed the Himalayan Green Brigade, an organization whose volunteers planted thousands of saplings in their respective areas, in Pithoragarh. He also planted saplings in the plains of Dehradun, Haridwar, and Kashipur.

He experimented with various varieties, planting trees which not only provide fodder but are also able to contain moisture and prevent landslides. In 2000, Rathore was awarded the Indira Priyadarshini Vriksh Mitra Award for planting one crore saplings.