Mountain Cycling Championship begins in Wayanad

Kalpetta: Kerala after the flood havoc is going through a phase of resurrection. The newest hope is that the Tourism industry has finally found the light at the end of the tunnel. The number of guests visiting the tourist centres under DTPC are increasing by the day. Attempts to discover and develop new destinations are also taking place simultaneously. Recovery of the encroached land in Kurumbalakkotta in the villages of Kottathara and Anjukunnu is in progress.

The land survey in Kottathara is complete and the restoration of flood-affected tourist centres will be done before 15th of this month. After the reconstruction of roads to Wayanad is finished, more travellers are expected to flow in. With the starting of International Mountain Cycling Championship, the number of foreign tourists will shoot up tremendously.

The National Mountain Cycling Championship organised by the Department of Tourism will be conducted on December 8 and 9 in Priyadarshini Estate in Mananthavady. National and International cross country competitions will be held in the 4.8 km long track in the Estate, as informed by the district Collector A R Ajayakumar and sub Collector N S K Umesh.

Two participants each from countries Australia, Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Armenia, Philippines will compete in the international cross country. And, participants from the Army, Railways, and representatives from different states will compete in the national cross country.

The prize money for the International cross country are Rs 1,50,000 and Rs 1 lakh for the first and second positions respectively. For the national level it is 1 lakh and 50,000 respectively. The prizes for the national level competitions for women will be Rs 50,000 for first and Rs 25,000 for second. The Championship will be inaugurated by minister Kadakampally Surendran at 3pm on 8th December.