Stage set for international kite festival in Mangalore

Mangalore, January 19: Seventeen international kite flyers from seven nations and a number of local flyers are likely to participate in the international kite festival being organised by Team Mangalore, a hobby group of kite makers and flyers on January 21 and 22 at Panambur beach near here.

Announcing this to media persons here on Thursday, the event coordinator Giridhar Kamath said this would be the fourth international kite festival being held in Mangalore.

He said that the two-day festival would be launched on January 21 at 3:30 pm in the presence of P P Upadhya, Director (Technical), P Jayaram Bhat, MD , Karnataka Bank Ltd and Seemanth Kumar Singh , Commissioner of Police, Mangalore. Thereafter, dignitaries, patrons and Sponsors would launch specialty kites. Flying on the first day end would end at 7 pm.

On Sunday, there will be a “My Kite to God” exhibition to be inaugurated by Dr N S Chennappa Gowda, D C of Dakshina Kannada, he said.

The valedictory function will be held on January

22 at 7 pm. Participating kite flyers will be felicitated on the occasion in the presence of U K Basu, MD of MRPL, Tamilvanan, Chairman NMPT and Mukund Kamath of Ideal Ice Cream. The event is mainly sponsored by ONGC and MRPL while other entities like Ideal Ice cream, Karnataka Bank and Hotel Goldfinch have supported the event.

He said Team Mangalore would fly their speciality kites like Kathakalli, Yaksha,Gajaraja, Bhoota Kola, Pushpaka Vimana and 'Avatar Bird Kite', the new addition.

The special event this year would be the exhibition of specially painted Kites created by differently abled children of special schools, viz Chetana, Mangala Jyothi, Sanidhya and children of Abhaya Ashraya, Mangalore. About 150 kites with a message on them will be on display. The foreign participants are from France, Indonesia, Netherlands, Kuwait, UK, Lebanon and South Korea, he said.

The flying of kites at night is being held for the first time in India using high power beams. This will be an added attraction to the event. Night flying will commence at 7 pm on Sunday January 22, and will go on for one hour. In the evening there will be a “Pooja Nritya” by a folk dance team from Mandya on the centre stage to add cultural touch and also a Yakshagana will be showcased during the festival.

Manja, a specially treated thread used for kite flying in kite cutting competitions in Gujrath and other northern states. Glass powder and glue is applied to the Manja thread. This thread cuts through skin and is dangerous for the eyes, face, neck and fingers of children. It also causes damage and cuts the kites of participating guest flyers, thus bringing a bad name for Mangalore flyers. Thus this thread is not allowed during the festival.

Mr Kamath said that elaborate arrangements have been made by the Panambur beach development project management in association with the DK District Police, Panambur Police station and district administration for smooth flow of traffic. A separate shelter is arranged for children who are lost and found on the beach. Parents are advised to show children this shelter and ask them to reach this shelter if they go missing. Names of such children will be announced on the public address system. Children must not be deprived of swimming and thus Panambur Beach Development project would provide life guard services within the earmarked swimming area.

He said Mr Yatish Baikampady and his team of dedicated life guards and staff would supervise the entire security at sea shore. Several stalls vending fruits, mineral water, ice cream and soft drinks will be available on the beach. MCC is providing drinking water facility as well. Waste bins would be placed and public are requested to use them to maintain cleanliness. Pay and use toilets will be provided by the Tourism department. Kite shops would be selling kites of various shapes, sizes and colours. K S Hegde Medical academy would be providing emergency medical aid and ambulance services. The entire event is managed by STS event Management team of Mangalore.

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Mangaluru–Kasaragod bus fare rolled back after Kerala protests force NHAI to shut Arikkady toll plaza

coastaldigest.com news network

February 5,2026

Mangaluru: The KSRTC Mangaluru division has rolled back the fare hike on buses operating on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route following the suspension of toll collection at the Arikkady toll plaza near Kumbala in Kasaragod district.

The fare revision had been implemented after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) began toll collection at the Arikkady plaza on NH-66. As a result, fares for ordinary and Rajahamsa services were increased by ₹7 and ₹10, respectively, raising the bus fare from Mangaluru to Kasaragod from ₹81 to ₹88.

Senior Divisional Controller of KSRTC’s Mangaluru division, Rajesh Shetty, said the fares were reduced after toll collection at the Arikkady plaza was stopped. “The tollgate began operations on January 13, and the toll amount was deducted from the FASTag accounts of KSRTC buses operating on the route. Following an order from the central government to suspend toll collection, KSRTC has also withdrawn the additional fare with immediate effect,” he said.

At present, vehicles travelling on the Mangaluru–Kasaragod route pay toll only at the Talapady toll plaza. The toll for light motor vehicles (LMVs) at Talapady is ₹80 for a same-day return, while heavy vehicles, including buses, are charged ₹250. At Arikkady, the toll rates were ₹130 for LMVs (same-day return) and ₹450 for buses.

Protests against Arikkady toll plaza

The Arikkady toll plaza witnessed widespread protests from January 12, the day toll collection commenced. On the second day, an action committee led by Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf launched an indefinite protest at the site. Except for the BJP, leaders and workers of most major political parties participated in the agitation.

On the night of January 14, a large number of protesters gathered at the plaza and vandalised property, following which authorities temporarily suspended toll operations. The BJP later also expressed opposition to the toll plaza and criticised NHAI’s decision.

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