A documentary soon to enlighten people on grasslands

Hyderabad: Apart from various developments like urban, rural and infrastructural developments in the State or the country, it is equally important to preserve the grasslands which are also a major component of our ecosystem as they are biodiversity reserves, for cultural and recreational needs. Taking an initiative to spread awareness on wildlife and nature conservation in the two Telugu states, a group of young photographers joined hands to enlighten the beauty of our grasslands in Telangana. Their team known as 'Wild Telangana' slated to release a series of documentaries on grasslands in the State and is working under the auspices of VWOLFS Foundation which is a registered non-profit and non-government organisation.

The team released the teaser of the upcoming episode 1 of the documentary series on 'Indian Fox-Fighting Habitat Loss'. The episode will be released by March-end on YouTube. It was shot in a small grassland patch located at Ramnathgudpally village in Mominpet mandal in Ranga Reddy district. Nearly 10 to 12 episodes will be released as part of the documentary series.

Speaking to The Hans India, one of the team members, Pradeep Praz, automobile photographer and cinematographer said, "Grasslands are important because they are a natural carbon sink and an important part of a natural process called Carbon Cycle. In the carbon cycle, the earth emits and re-captures and stores large quantities of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), from the earth's atmosphere, thereby keeping the global temperature in balance. They also support diverse Biodiversity, including some rare and endangered animals like Indian Grey Wolf, Black Bucks, Chinkara, Striped Hyena, Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican. The importance of protecting/conserving grasslands is matched only by our need to have open spaces and breathe clean air.

These ecosystems are critical for the health of our natural world. The grasslands provide feeding grounds for all manner of prey and predators and give balance to the world." These grasslands are mostly located in Vikarabad, Nizamabad, and Siddipet in the State and are very important natural ecosystems which need to be protected, said Harikrishna Philkhana, wildlife photographer and software engineer. The team consists of Pradeep Praz, automobile photographer and cinematographer, Harikrishna Philkhana, wildlife photographer and software engineer, John Justin, product photographer, Ch Avinash, wildlife photographer, Sanjay, techie and Rueben Ashish David, wildlife photographer.