The Baahubali actor Prabhas adopted a 1,650-acre forest land near Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad on Monday. He handed over Rs 2 crore to the forest officials for the development of this land. This land falls under Khajipally reserve forest near Dundigal, which is about 20 kilometres away from the city. The forest area is known for its medicinal plants, as per the officials.
Swathes of the land adopted will be developed as Urban Eco Park, which, as per the official information from the Forest Department, will be named in the memory of the actor’s father and producer, UV Suryanarayana Raju. The foundation stone for the eco-park was laid by the actor along with Forest Minister Allola Indra Karan Reddy and Rajya Sabha MP Joginapally Santosh Kumar on Monday.
Meanwhile, the rest of the area will be considered as a conservation zone. The actor and the officials observed the reserve forest from a temporary watchtower, later planted a few saplings in the reserve forest region.
The officials have also added that the forest department will fence the entire 1,650 acres to prevent encroachments and immediately start the development of the eco-park. As part of the first phase, a park gate, see-through wall, walking track, view-point, gazebo (a small pavilion-like structure) and a medicinal plant centre will be constructed.
During the foundation stone laying ceremony, the actor said that it gave him immense pleasure to serve society by adopting the forest zone and added that he is ready to contribute more for the maintenance of the forest area, depending on the progress and the requirement.
I've taken the initiative to adopt and develop 1650 acres of Kazipalli Reserve Forest Block near Hyderabad. Having always been a nature lover, I believe this would create an additional lung space for the city. #GreenIndiaChallenge - #Prabhas via instagram pic.twitter.com/5hb2y8v6Rf
— Prabhas Trends ™ (@TrendsPrabhas) September 7, 2020
Earlier, during a Green Indian Challenge programme, Prabhas had promised to adopt at least 1,000 acres of forest area in the state, as suggested by the MP Santhosh Kumar. Now, after consulting with the forest officials, the actor decided to take responsibility for a portion of the Khajipally Reserve Forest.
On the work front, Prabhas has recently announced his upcoming projects, Radhe Shyam and Adipurush.