The quaint locations on the banks of the recently revived Kodoor river are all set to become hubs of activity in the coming days with a colourful celebration of the natural beauty and traditions of the region.
Aimed at showcasing the tourism potential of these rural destinations, the Meenachil-Meenanthara-Kodoor river linking programme is organising tourism fairs at 10 locations along the recently opened cruise circuit in the river. The initiative will start with ‘Vayalarangu fest’ at Padiyarakkadavu on Friday. The three-day event will promote activities based on village tourism and showcase the local tradition, culinary culture and art forms. Visitors will be taken on canoes through the inland water routes across the village.
District Collector P.K. Sudheer Babu will inaugurate the fair on Friday evening while Civil Supplies Minister P. Thilothaman will inaugurate the valedictory session on Sunday.
In other locations
The tourist festival at Padiyarakkadavu will be followed a similar event to be held at Ambattukadavu later next week and a week long programme at Malarikkal in February last week. The other locations where similar events have been planned include Muvattumukku, near Puthuppally, Eerayil Kadavu, Kalathil Kadavu, near Kollad, Thanaloram at Neerikkad and Nalumanikkattu, near Manarcad. “These festivals will be held in an area spread over the 29.5-km tourism circuit connecting Pazhukkanila and Puthuppally and are aimed at promoting tourism based on water, farming and village life,” said K. Anil Kumar, convener of the river-linking initiative. The programmes, organised by locally constituted collectives, are held in association with the respective local bodies.
Lost glory
The waterways along the Kodoor river lost their significance with the expansion of the road network. With silt being deposited, some of them got levelled. The river linking project, through works taken up in phases over the past couple of years, stabilised the canals and even dredged the channels.
