Not yet retired: This octogenarian duo refuses to give up on civic activism

From collecting money to build toilets for primary students in government schools to saving a lake from land sharks, Padmanabha and Rao are the dynamic duo of civic activism

Padmanabha Arkalgudand and S Venkata Subba Rao aged 83 years and 81 respectively, are the best of pals — they have been, for over 60 years since their days in law college. Padmanabha retired as a senior vice-president from ITC Ltd and Rao retired as general manager from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Bengaluru more than 20 years ago. Since then, Rao has saved a lake from the clutches of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and freely admits his contribution to the Rs 8 lakh crore NPAs owed to public sector banks. The two friends have raised money and