A-three-day national workshop on wildlife photography with the theme “A step towards wildlife conservation” started at Media Complex, Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) here today.First, of its kind, the workshop is organized by DIPR, in collaboration with Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF-India) and is supported by J&K Department of Wildlife, Valley Skill and Craft Development Institute, Kashmir and Gulshan Books.The workshop was formally inaugurated by Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology, Chaudhary Lal Singh, who was the Chief Guest on the occasion. On the occasion, the photographs by various wildlife photographers were put on display and the various books written on Kashmir were also available for sale.Speaking on the occasion, Lal Singh said such workshops should be conducted in future also as they educate the people about the need to conserve the wildlife and also teach about the importance of environmental conservation.The Minister said that the State has the best natural resources throughout the world and it is important that people come forward to preserve these.Lal Singh said the government is trying to intensify the plantation drive throughout the State so as to create an environmental balance.
During the inaugural session, former Director BNHS, Dr Asad R Rahmani gave a detailed lecture on the ethics of Wildlife Photography and Dr Pankaj Chandan from WWF-India educated the participants about the passion and patience for wildlife photography. In the technical session, Dritiman Mukherjee talked about the commitment and art of wildlife photography which was followed by the interaction with the Kashmir based photographers Mukhtar Ahmad and Sajad Bhat.Speaking on the occasion, Joint Director Information, Kashmir, Zahoor Ahmad Mir said that DIPR is organizing such type of workshops on the regular basis. These programs help in sending messages to the masses about the various issues and themes. He informed that the department received around 350 applications for the workshop, but only 120 participants were selected for the first phase of the workshop. The three-day-workshop will witness interactive sessions with the acclaimed wildlife photographers and cinematographers from Kashmir and outside the state and will also include wildlife expedition to Dachigam National Park for the participants.