Youth to kayak from Kollam to Kottapuram with green message

Alappuzha: Anees Madathil, Vipin Ravindranath and Murugan Krishnan, three young Malayalis from Bangalore, are all set to go on a kayaking expedition along the Kollam-Kottapuram National Waterway 3, which covers a distance of 200 km. The expedition will be flagged off by Chief Secretary E.K. Bharat Bhooshan at Kollam jetty on Monday.

The adventure trip was the brainchild of Vipin Ravindranath, a consultant coach and facilitator and an ex-IBM man. He had been on a similar trip along the Alappuzha backwaters in 2005.
“Apart from being a tribute to boatmen, the expedition also intends to spread the message that our natural resources need to be saved and conserved”. He said.

Anees Madathil, a techie, currently managing India Web Development at Stibo Systems in Bangalore said he came to know of the expedition on Facebook. “I stumbled upon a status update of Vipin and I didn’t have to think twice. I met him. Though passionate about adventures, I knew this would be something special. We discussed the challenges involved and decided to take it up”.

“As of now, our plan is to cover the entire stretch in six days. On our way we will conduct awareness classes on the need to conserve the eco system. We also plan to make a suggestion to the Government that the feasibilities of kayaking be utilized in making Kerala one of the most attractive kayaking destinations in the world. We’ll cover an average of 35 km per day; paddling from 5am to 10.30 am and 3:30 pm to 6pm”, they said.