24 Teams Confirmed For Rewa Festival Bamboo Raft Race
The teams are made up of the nine tikina (districts), business houses, banks, hotels and diplomatic missions
Twenty-four teams have confirmed their participation in the three- day Rewa Festival bilibili ( bamboo rafts) race which starts this morning at Syria Park, Nausori.
The teams are made up of the nine tikina (districts), business houses, banks, hotels and diplomatic missions.
Yesterday the Uto ni Yalo took a lead role in cleaning up the river in preparation for the inaugural event.
Rewa water taxis and the paddlers association pitched in with their assistance. The organisers are expecting more than 30,000 people to converge at Syria Park during the event.
Coordinator, Josefa Vesikara said the event was aimed at reducing river pollution which was also af- fecting food sources in the country’s widest river.
The bilibili race is organised by the Marist Old Boys Association with a sizeable contribution pledged by the Prime Minister’s Of- fice according to Mr Vesikara. The Rewa River was a hive of activity yesterday as youngsters turned up in numbers to clean up the river in preparation for the festival.
The festival ends on Saturday. “The nine boats picking the rubbish will pile them to show everyone the amount of rubbish being dumped into the river,” Mr Vesikara said.
“We want to create a platform where we can show and advocate to the people of Nausori especially people who live alongside the river to not throw the rubbish into the Rewa River.
“The livelihood of our generations depends on the river and we are using this opportunity to create awareness.
“We need to show and protect the environment and its biodiversity especially in its efforts to adapt to climatic changes affecting the province. This specifically relates to river pollution.” Opposition Leader and Marama na Roko Tui Dreketi Ro Teimumu Kepa will be joined by Government Ministry officials at the opening of the festival at Nausori today.