Himachal Pradesh to hold Wildlife Film Fest

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh will organise a weeklong film festival on wildlife here next month and screen the documentaries of three-time Green Oscar winner Mike H Pandey, state Forest Minister JP Nadda said Tuesday."During the wildlife week celebrations from Oct 2-8, a film festival will be organised in Shimla where documentaries of Mike H Pandey would be screened," he said.

He said Pandey has been invited to participate in the celebrations that would be held at the historic Gaiety Theatre. Pandey`s documentaries like "The Last Migration - Wild Elephant Capture in Sarguja" and "Shores of Silence - Whale Sharks in India" would be screened. "We have chalked out activities across the state. Our focus would be to educate the school children about the importance of nature and the assaults on it," Nadda said. Himachal Pradesh is known as a store house of biodiversity. Its lush green valleys and snow-capped mountains nest 36 percent of India`s bird species. Of the 1,228 species of birds that reportedly exist in India, 447 have been recorded in the hill state by the Himachal State Council for Science, Technology and Environment in its biodiversity report along with 77 species of mammals. IANS