KARIMNAGAR: Kolipaka Gattaiah (40) , the tallest man in India, died of heart attack at the ESI hospital in Hyderabad on Friday night. His body was cremated at his village Putnoor in Ramagundam mandal of Karimnagar district on Saturday. He was also adjudged the second tallest man in Asia.
Gattaiah stood tall at an astounding height of 7.6 feet when he was just 16. According to doctors, it was genetic disorders that triggered his growth. However after the intervention of former Ramagundam CI Brahmanandam, doctors stunted his growth through surgery, years ago. If it hadn’t been for the surgery, he would have grown exponentially and he would have met with an earlier death.
Gattaiah was a shepherd during his childhood, but he capitalised on his unusual height and started amusing visitors at Silparamam in Hyderabad. He eked out a living by entertaining the visitors and also used to support his mother Narsamma with his meagre income.
It is said that Gattaiah had been suffering from various ailments. He was admitted to the ESI hospital in Hyderabad recently with respiratory problems and breathed his last on Friday night.
The locals said they were proud of Gattaiah, who made the village famous. However, many of them rued that the government had never helped him. “He would have lived longer, if the governments have come to his rescue,” lamented M Satyanarayana, a villager. While Gattaiah’s father died long back, his mother Narsamma is staying with her elder son.