Mangaluru: Participants on the second day of the 8th Mangaluru International Kite Festival at Tannirbavi beach was greatly disappointed, as the unexpected change in weather on Sunday afternoon played spoilsport.

Although the sky was clear and the wind was favourable at the venue from the inaugural session on Saturday till Sunday afternoon, the weather started changing past 3 pm. Clouds started covering the sky and there were also light showers, forcing the participants to withdraw.

Daniel, a member of the French kite flying team, said that he had participated in kite festivals in various countries, including India, and expressed his delight at his experience in Mangaluru. “I really liked the atmosphere and hospitality in Mangaluru. The wind speed was good on the first day, but this evening, the wind speed was affected by the cloudy weather. The wind speed required for kite-flying, which is 10 to 14 kmph, was not there at the venue,” he explained on Sunday.

He added that, the watchers too enjoyed being a part of the kite festival in spite of the hurdles due to weather change.

The kite festival was organized on Saturday and Sunday by Team Mangaluru, an amateur kite-fliers’ group in coordination with ONGC-MRPL as a part of the ‘Karavali Utsava’. Dakshina Kannada District In-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao inaugurated the event at the Tannirbavi beach on Saturday.

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Bengaluru: Minister Zameer Ahmed has responded to reports of Muslim community leaders writing to the Congress high command expressing concerns.

Speaking to reporters, he said he had seen the letter in the media and noted that around 15–16 community leaders had written to Rahul Gandhi, as well as to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and Mallikarjun Kharge.

“They have expressed their views. If you want to know their opinion, you should ask them. I cannot speak on their behalf,” he said.

Stressing that there is no discrimination, Zameer Ahmed said everyone is being treated equally. “Since those who wrote the letter are community leaders, the reasons behind it should be asked to them directly,” he added.

He also said that different leaders express different views. “One person may speak in my favour, another may speak for someone else. There is no need to consider all that,” he said, referring to discussions around leaders like Abdul Jabbar and Naseer Ahmed.

On the issue concerning Naseer Ahmed, Zameer Ahmed said he is a senior leader and that if any anti-party activity was involved, due process should have been followed. “There is a procedure, a notice should be issued first, a reply should be obtained, and then action should be taken. This is also the view expressed by Satish Jarkiholi and several others,” he said.

He clarified that he is not saying action against anyone is wrong if anti-party activity is proven, but decisions should follow proper procedure.

Responding to demands that action against Abdul Jabbar and Naseer Ahmed be withdrawn, he said steps should be taken as per rules and that there was a view that immediate action may not have been necessary.

On the mention in the letter about “teaching a lesson” in future elections, he said there is indeed some dissatisfaction among political and community leaders. “We will speak and resolve the issues. Those who have written the letter should be asked directly,” he said.