Srividya Palaparthi By Express News Service HYDERABAD: It was raining persistently on Friday evening at Necklace Road. Almost poetically, youngsters of Hyderabad despite the cumbersome weather gathered at the Love Hyderbad sculpture to draw attention to the victims of climate change. It focused on bringing to fore the trauma of those displaced and homeless because of the worst cyclone of the decade – Cyclone Phani. Led by youngsters of the city, the protest was deliberately scheduled ahead of the UN Climate Summit on September 23, being attended by Greta Thunberg, a climate change warrior. Despite the rain pouring down, the youngsters present stood steadfast - some with umbrellas and some without holding placards with some creative slogans on them. Some said, “Don’t be a fossil fool”, while some said “No Nature, No Future”. To keep the crowd’s spirits up, dance trainer Harsha Maheshwari took the stage for her scheduled performance. The rain meant there would not be a sound system but that did not dampen the group’s spirits. Harsha being her usual energetic self started singing the song herself. No later than that, the crowd joined in to sing, Bezubaan from ABCD as her footsteps provided rhythm. Children joined in with her on the stage as well. While this was just one part of the entire schedule, the skies cleared soon enough for the rest of the programme. The participants also put together a Nukkad Natak, sang the Earth Song, performed a play, and also a dance ballet. Environmental activist Kaajal Maheshwari along with others spoke on the need for addressing climate change and its effect on the citizens of our country. Prathyusha Parakala, a Climate Force Ambassador says, “We are at the verge of mass extinction a point of no return, but may be with all our determined commitment and action we have a chance to fix this.” Before wrapping up the participants pledged to protect and stand by nature to their best abilities and sang the national anthem before dispersing. Everyone took it upon themselves to clean the spot before leaving.

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