KATHMANDU: Dhuwa — a telefilm that aims to raise awareness on air pollution and its impact on health and environment — premiered on October 1 at Kumari Hall, Kamal Pokhari.

Air pollution is one of the serious environmental hazards of present day. Due to smog and haze in the atmosphere, the adverse impacts are seen on the Himalayas, snow, glaciers and tourism along with an adverse impact on human health.

To address the problem of deteriorating air quality in Nepal, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) partnering with MaHa Sanchar has produced Dhuwa.

Two animated parrots — Madan Gopi and Hari Gopi — voiced by Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya respectively attempt to make people aware about the causes of air pollution, its impact on people’s health, and citizen’s responsibility to reduce pollution. It also encourages people to change their habits to create a pollution-free environment.

“People are used to watching romantic and action packed films. But making a telefilm on such a dry subject was a challenge for us. However, animated characters have been helpful to convey our intended message — controlling smoke and air pollution. We should work forward to make Nepal a smoke-free zone,” opined Acharya.

Along with conveying message, the satire and narration on the issues of air pollution make Dhuwa an entertaining watch.

The telefilm stars Acharya, Shrestha, Buddhi Tamang among others in lead roles. The 40-minute-long telefilm will be aired on Nepal Television on October 11 at 8:50 pm.