Minister, officials jet-ski to inaugurate adventure sports

It will be open for localites from Jan 8 to 11 and restricted to NYF participants from Jan 12 to 16

It was nothing like a usual inauguration programme. No one looked for the lamp or the ribbon. The programme was to inaugurate the adventure sports at Kadekar on the bank of river Nethravathi in Mangalore as a part of 17th National Youth Festival (NYF) to be held from January 12 to 18 and the dignitaries who had come to inaugurate the sports participated in the adventure sports and set the perfect tone.

District-in-Charge Minister Krishna J Palemar, MLA Yogish Bhat, City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh, Deputy Commissioner Dr N S Channappa Gowda, Municipal Commissioner Dr Harish sportingly took to Jet skiing fearlessly.

Slitting through the water, leaving behind a white trail, the dignitaries enjoyed every bit of the ride, which left the onlookers too to jump on the boats and try it themselves.

The expert instructors took the boat zig-zag, swirled around and brought the dignitaries safely back to the starting point.

Addressing the gathering, Palemar said that Kadekar region is close to his heart because he spent most of his childhood on the bank of this river playing in water.
“I know the river very well. I know the tides too but what I never knew was that a fast ride over this docile river could be so refreshing,” he said calling upon more and more people to come and enjoy the rides being offered to them for a limited period.

Once in lifetime

MLA Yogish Bhat said that Mangaloreans have to put their heart and soul into this event because NYF will be held in Mangalore only after 174 years! “We need to understand how fortunate we are to host this event in our lifetime,” he said adding that tourism will be boosted in a big way in near future and two islands in the region may see eco-friendly tourism development if everything goes on well.

He said that a cine actor has proposed to develop tourism infrastructure on the islands at a cost of Rs 200 crore, which will be a massive boost to tourism.
He said that rope way project may soon see day’s light because the government has given clearance to Rs 17 crore project. He further informed that during the NYF, which is celebrated as a part of 150th birth centenary of Swami Vivekananda, there are plans to give booklets to all delegates on life of Swami Vivekananda.

Events

As many as 42 expert instructors from General Thimmaiah National Adventure Academy (GETHNAA) are conducting various adventure sports including water sports and land events. The adventure sports are available for the local population at concessional rates from January 8 to 11, while the events will restricted to the NYF participants from January 12 to 16.

Parasailing will be inaugurated at Panambur. Jet Skiing (Rs 150), Banana ride (Rs 100) and Kayaking (Rs 50) will be held at Kadekar. The sports are open from 9.30 am to 12.45 pm/ 2.15 pm to 5.30 pm everyday.

Meanwhile, land adventure sports like Rappelling, Jumering, Tyrolienne and traverse will be held at Town Hall and Nehru Maidan free of cost for locals from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm and from 3 pm to 5.30 pm.

Two boats with 50 member capacity will take people on ride to relish the nature’s beauty around the region. House boats too will be started in the Kadekar area.