Giant, motorised kites to dot Belgaum sky

Belgaum, Dec. 18: Giant kites like you have never seen before will cover the Belgaum skies for two days in January, creating a colourful canopy that promises to awe spectators.

There will be motorised and fiberglass kites, traditional paper kites and designer kites, all of which will be flown by expert kite makers and flyers from Europe and Asia during the two-day international kite festival the city is playing host to on January 16 and 17. Some of the kites may be over 50 metres long with a 100 metre tail.

Around 30 international kite flyers have already confirmed their participation, according to Belgaum South MLA Abhay Patil, who is organising the event.

“International kite festivals have been organised in Ahmedabad and Gujarat for some years now. But this is the first time Belgaum is playing host to one,” he says.

Interestingly contestants will fly kites at night as well in a first of its kind experiment in the country. Some kite flyers from France and UK are so good that they will fly a number of kites at a time, holding them in two hands. “Around 15 international kite experts who are taking part in the Ahmedabad International Kite Festival on January 14 will arrive for the Belgaum fest the next day. Several are arriving from Hyderabad a well. They will be brought in chartered flights to Belgaum,” Mr Patil reveals.

The spectacular event will be enjoyed by 5,000 foreign tourists from Goa who are being brought to the city by the organising committee, which is hoping the festival will help promote Belgaum as a tourist destination. “The hotel and tourism industry can gain tremendously through such events,” Mr Patil points out.

While the international flyers will use the open ground at Nanawadi, local kite flyers will use another ground in the city during the festival.

Kite flying will begin at dawn and continue through the night. A number of stalls will be opened around the venue to help local businessmen market their products. The event which has cost about Rs 30 lakh to organise will become a regular annual feature in Belgaum from next year. Deccan Chronile[19/12/2010]