The first Tamil Nadu International Kite Festival (TNIKF) got under way at TTDC Ocean View in Mamallapuram on Saturday.
Over 100 kites, including those shaped like panda, tiger, dolphins and Ganesha, are to be flown by teams from Thailand, the U.S. and India during the festival that will conclude on Monday evening.
Saturday evening saw over 8,000 visitors at the venue on the East Coast Road (ECR), just ahead of Mamallapuram town. The Thaikudam Bridge band performed at the venue. From 6 p.m. on Sunday, Rajesh Vaidhya and group would present Fusion Music.
Apart from kites, activities including face painting and day-long food carnival would be available at the festival, which would open by noon on both days. The festival was inaugurated by Minister for Rural Industries T.M. Anbarasan in the presence of Tourism Minister M. Mathiventhan, Tourism Secretary B. Chandra Mohan, Director of Tourism, Sandeep Nanduri and Chengalpattu Collector A.R. Radhul Nadh.
More details are available at www.tnikf.com, www.instagram/tnkitefestival or www.facebook.com/tnkitefestival.
Meanwhile on Saturday evening, there was a traffic jam on the road leading up the venue. Parking was unavailable nearby for many vehicles, which forced people to walk long distances from the place they parked. The available space was occupied by essential services or was not suitable for the purpose. When contacted, a senior official said they were allocating additional parking space for vehicles. “We are planning to open the ground for events. We will lay paver block for parking of vehicles and create other amenities,” he said.
