Photojournalist K. Durga Rao Wins First Prize in TSPJA Competition for 'Snake Lift'
Deccan Chronicle photojournalist K. Durga Rao has won the first prize in the Best News Photo Competition organised by the Telangana State Photo Journalists Association (TSPJA) for his photograph titled 'Snake lift', which captured an eight-foot snake being rescued from under a vehicle in Nizampet.
The winning photograph, which was published in Deccan Chronicle on June 30, documented residents and a rescuer from the Friends of Snakes Society working to catch an eight-foot snake that had sought shelter beneath a car at Akruthi Venkatadri Towers in Nizampet.
The state-level competition saw participation from photojournalists across the state, receiving a total of 306 photographs from 102 photojournalists representing all 33 districts of Telangana. Alongside the first prize recognition, Rao received a cash award of Rs 10,000.
According to Kiran Varanasi, a software employee and resident of Akruthi Venkatadri Towers, the rescuer was initially cautious due to the size of the reptile but successfully captured it without incident. The snake was subsequently taken away to be released into the wild. Varanasi noted that the rescuer was already carrying two or three other snakes that had been caught at different locations earlier that day.
