Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly N. Kiran Kumar Reddy urged schoolchildren to observe nature as closely as possible, as it will help them understand and protect environment. Expressing anguish over the vanishing forest cover, he observed that there is a lot of talk but little action on the issues of global warming and environment protection.
An audience predominantly below 15 years of age listened to Mr. Reddy who inaugurated the three-day ‘Hyderabad CMS Vatavaran' Environment and Wildlife Film Festival and Forum here on Wednesday.
Attributing the incursions of wild animals on human habitations to the reduction of forest cover, and the latter, to the felling of trees for fuel, Mr. Reddy stressed upon the need for alternative energy sources.
ADVERTISEMENT
GHMC Mayor B. Karthika Reddy, while referring to the recent oil spill off the Mumbai coast , said though we have achieved technological advancement, the same has resulted in environmental destruction.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests C. Madhukar Raj was present. In all, 40 award-winning films will be screened, informed P.N. Vasanthi, the Director of the Centre for Media Studies. They have been selected from a list of 350 films screened at the competitive film festival held by CMS at Delhi last year.
Conservation film-maker Shekar Dattatri, film-maker Girish Girija Joshi, and city-based civil society members Vijaya Rama Kumar (SAVE), Rao Chelikani, B.N. Reddy, and K. Purushottam Reddy were felicitated as ‘Green Heroes'.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Joshi also received the ‘National Green Corps Sadhana CMS' award for his film ‘Zor Lagaa ke Haiya' which was screened in Panorama section. ‘The Truth about Tigers', by Shekar Dattatri was shown as the inaugural film. On Thursday, films will be screened at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Basheerbagh from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and at University of Hyderabad from 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.