From forests to roads: Photographer documents Eastern Ghats transformation

Hyderabad: For photographer Rukhiya Mohammed, the Eastern Ghats are living ecosystems with stories of survival, loss and resilience. Born and raised in Kakinada and now based in Hyderabad, Mohammed has won the Portfolio category at the Nature inFocus Awards 2025 for her photo story Echoes from the Eastern Ghats.

The Nature inFocus Awards are among India’s leading wildlife and conservation photography platforms, recognizing visual narratives from around the world. Mohammed’s winning portfolio documents the transformation of the Eastern Ghats under growing human pressure.

Her work covers deforestation, mining, tourism projects, and rapid urbanisation across the mountain range. Shot largely from aerial perspectives using a drone, the images show forests cut open by roads, hills flattened for construction, and green spaces shrinking against expanding cities.

The series brings attention to the ecological changes underway in one of India’s oldest mountain ranges. Through her lens, Mohammed traces how development is reshaping the landscape and the communities that depend on it.