(12 Jul) ANANTHAGIRI HILLS Hyderabad: An intensive day-long campaign was held for the rejuvenation of Ananthagiri Hills here, on Saturday...
(12 Jul) ANANTHAGIRI HILLS Hyderabad: An intensive day-long campaign was held for the rejuvenation of Ananthagiri Hills here, on Saturday. The programme is a joint initiative of the Ranga Reddy district administration, the Hyderabad Birding Pals, the Telangana State Special Protection Force and the Telangana State Forest Department. The hill station, once known for its TB sanatorium, is now a popular as a weekend destination to enjoy the beautiful weather or for a weekend break. It is also famous for the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple where thousands of devotees come from different parts of Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra states. Wildlife enthusiasts, particularly bird watchers, flock the vantage points in these dense forests to sight some of the 169 species that have been identified in the Ananthagiri Hills. In a massive cleanup drive on Saturday, volunteers from TSSPF, along with the members of the Hyderabad Birding Pals, cleared the areas in the vicinity of the temple and below leading into the forests. Later, they cleared the areas around the Government Chest Hospital of plastics and other non - degradable waste so as to keep the forest environs clean and green. More than 100 officers and men of the TSSPF and volunteers of the Hyderabad Birding Pals took part. "This is just the beginning of an ambitious initiative to take care of the biodiversity of Ananthagiri Hills and welcome those who want to experience a forest ecosystem on a quick visit from Hyderabad," said the TSSPF Director General Tejdeep Kaur Menon. She said that bird sightings offered a rich and varied opportunity to become aware of a large number of species. Ananthagiri Hills is also the single largest bird sighting area in Telangana. Ranga Reddy district collector Raghunandan Rao said with a large number of pilgrims turning up for the temple festival in August, there were plans to promote the hills as a tourist destination.
