Seventh edition of Rockathon romancing the rocks

Hyderabad: The rockscapes at Khajaguda near Gachibowli livened up on Sunday as hundreds of nature lovers made their way right from 7 am for the seventh edition of Rockathon. An annual event where rock lovers and nature enthusiasts meet for adventure cum fitness such as zip-lining, rappelling, rock balancing, rock walls and several other activities.

Speaking on the occasion, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, IT and Industries departments, said, “The Society to Save Rocks has worked hard in saving the rocks and the hillock.” He further added that he had been associated with the society for 10 years. “We are only concentrating on heritage of Charminar and Golconda fort but Fakhruddingutta too is of great heritage value and the natural rock formations need to be preserved.”

Frauke Quader, secretary, Society to Save Rocks, said, “The idea is to notify, preserve and spread awareness about the fascinating ancient granite rock formations present in the Hyderabad and Greater Deccan areas." The Society identified 26 rock areas and has been successful in playing a part in their protection as heritage precincts under HMDA. This is the third time that Rockathon has been organised at Fakhruddingutta. Manideep, the volunteer, stated “The day is all about living and exploring the rocky nature and planning a number of events and games is all about living, feeling and connecting with the nature.”

Though the programme had focused on awareness and preservation of the deccani rocks but the sports activities made things even more thrilling, stated GM Krishna Rao a participant. Many came in early on a cloudy December morning and probably paid attention to rocks for the first time. While the young went for the more daring activities like Rappelling, Trail Biking and Zip Lining, the more laid back enjoyed the Rock walks, Rock balancing, Rock Quiz and Ikebana using dry material.