By Jaison Wilson
Kodenchery, Kerala, Jul 31 (UNI) Rain-fed Iruvanjippuzha and Chalippuzha rivers - the centre of International Kayaking Tournament as part of the Malabar River Festival - flowing as usual through this hill town in north Kerala, but without any visiting adventurers this time, amid the Novel Coronavirus lockdown.
Malabar River Festival, one of Asia's largest Kayaking championships, is unlikely to held this year due to the ongoing Coronavirus spread, the District Tourism Promotional Council had confirmed earlier this week.
As things got worse, the state government declared all the wards in Kodenchery panchayat--one of the locations of the sporting event-- as hotspot, considering the rising positive cases.
Manik Taneja, Co-organiser of MRF, said that the situation is extremely bad for all those in the whitewater industry up north near the Himalayas.
"For us in South India, it is off season till the monsoons. Mid June is when the kayaking season starts, so on a personal front, there isn't much kayaking anyway. This is an absolute disaster of a season, more so for a large number of river guides, who are freelance guides and not on a regular payroll.
'I fear this will seriously dent the future of paddle-sport in India, since quite a few of them may be forced to seek other professions. I hope I am wrong about this," Mr Taneja said in a statement here.
The adventure sports take place between 1-3 km of Iruvanjippuzha and Chalipuzha, tributaries of the Chaliyar river, fourth longest in the state.
The Malabar River Festival has been attracting some of the world's top kayakers, including Olympic medallists to this sleepy town, ever since its commencement in 2013 to battle the fierce rapids that tumble down the Western Ghats.
Kodenchery, mainly a town of the settler farmers in the hilly terrain of Kozhikode district, was marked in the tourism map after it became the venue of the river festival. It's growing popularity among the international kayakers impacted the local community in a big way.
Local people were benefited from the festival, mainly through small businesses and by renting out their homes partly during the season.
Paddlers, mainly Westerners, used to stay here, months before the commencement of the sporting event, which is also near to another tourist location - Tusharagiri waterfall.
"In 2018, the championship was held, after the deadly Nipah virus. We shall overcome this pandemic too," said Rijo Devasia, a college professor from the locality.
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