Fire spreads across Yenkathala grassland in Vikarabad district, posing threat to flora-fauna

Yenkathala grassland is home to as many as 191 bird species which include many migrants

Vikarabad: A huge extent of Yenkathala grassland near Yenakathala village of Mominpet mandal was reduced to ashes as some miscreants ignited fire in the prominent grassland of Telangana. The fire continues to simmer on Monday, posing a threat to flora and fauna.

The grassland is home to as many as 191 bird species which include many migrants. Rare hawks-Pallied Harrier and Marsh Harrier- would migrate to Yenakaltha from Russia and Eastern Asian countries by traveling over 5,000 KM during every winter. It has become a most sought-after place for roosting during the winter for migrant Harriers. Not only birds but the rare Indian grey wolf was also spotted at Yenakathala apart from a number of Foxes.

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Speaking to Telangana Today, Harigopal Srirangam, a seasoned birder of Hyderabad, has said that a team of birders have made a visit to Yenkathala on Sunday for a weekend birding trip but were shocked to see the grassland enveloped in the fire. Harigopal has said that he along with his fellow birders tried to extinguish the fire in a natural way by using the green branches of trees, but they had succeeded to only some extent. While the fire was spreading all over the grassland, the birder has said that they saw a fox fleeing to safety.

Hyderabad Birding Pals (HBP) member Sriram Reddy has urged the forest department to put off the fire by deploying their personnel since Yenkathala is very important place for flora and fauna. He has underlined the importance of the protecting area because Yenakathala is getting rare bird species from different parts of the world.