Telengana is hosting ‘Haritha Haram’, a green festival of planting saplings and it is now echoing in Antartica, thanks to thirty-two-year-old Raghunandan Vadla from Begumpet, who reached Antarctica in March this year as part of an international expedition and also took the Haritha Haram flag to the faraway and frigid place.

Vadla, an engineering graduate said that he decided to carry the flag to Antartica as he wanted the world to know about Telangana's unique programme of planting crores of saplings. Representatives of 32 countries had participated in this expedition which was organized by Robert Swan - the first person to walk to both North and South Pole.

Vadla's efforts were not missed by IT minister K T Rama Rao, who tweeted his appreciation for the Hyderabadi's attempts to popularize the state's initiative.

Vadla said that it is imperative for people to acknowledge the threat to our planet and make sustained efforts together to save it.  Vadla, on his part, is preparing a module that would help students understand the graveness of the situation and how they can pitch in to fight global warming.

About his experience in the Antartic, Vadla said that he was very concerned when he saw huge ice blocks melting in the water. He stressed that global warming is a major issue.