T’puram: The 12th edition of Malabar River Festival will be held from July 30 to Aug 2 at Chalipuzha and Iruvazhinjipuzha in Kozhikode, tourism minister P C Vishnunadh said on Friday.Malabar River Festival is touted as Asia’s largest white water kayaking competition. The minister stated that international kayakers from over 20 countries and more than 100 national kayakers are expected to participate.To promote the festival, around 18 adventure sports events will be organized across Kozhikode municipality and eight panchayats. Last year’s festival saw participation from 18 kayakers from countries like USA, New Zealand, Chile, Russia, Belgium, Italy, Malaysia, Ukraine and Nepal, along with 85 Indian kayakers.The organizing committee will function under the patronage of the tourism minister. Kozhikode district collector will serve as the committee chairman. Additionally, representatives from the public, officials and cultural sectors will be included in the committee.Kerala tourism department is organizing the event with technical cooperation from Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association. The minister expressed expectations for significant participation from adventure sports enthusiasts, tourism representatives and international kayakers.Vishnunadh said the govt was considering safety inspections at amusement parks in Kerala. He emphasized the need for sustainable tourism similar to responsible tourism and stated that a decision would be made after discussions with relevant parties.
