The seventh edition of the Chaliyar River Paddle will begin on November 12.
The three-day event to be hosted by Jellyfish Watersports in association with the Kerala Tourism between Nilambur and Beypore will uphold the theme ‘Go plastic negative’.
The organisers said the 68-km paddling would offer opportunities at various levels for all from beginners to well-established watersport enthusiasts, nature lovers, tourists, children, and professionals. The event will promote the beauty of rivers and authentic Malabar cuisines, besides offering a platform to paddlers to meet like-minded people from various fields, they added.
One of the highlights of the event is the participation of a number of local music bands in entertainment programmes. The city’s prominent restaurants will join as partners to offer the best dishes to participants. Considering participants’ safety, COVID-19 preventive vaccination certificate will be mandatory for all.
Efforts are also on to promote the paddling fest as the phoenix event to boost domestic tourism. There are other attractive ingredients like local expeditions, camping, and sea paddling using kayaks. Many of the participants had taken part in the previous editions of the international kayaking event at Pulikkayam in Kozhikode.
Kaushiq Kudithodika, chief coordinator of the event, said the Chaliyar River Paddle had its focus on saving local rivers from urban pollution and promoting recreational kayaking for all. “With the support of a non-governmental organisation, we will also give collection bags to all participants to collect plastic waste during the event and train them to segregate it for recycling,” he added.
