The Nehru Trophy Boat Race Society, the organising body of the renowned Nehru Trophy Boat Race, has recorded profits after the 2009 edition of the event.
Society chairman and District Collector P. Venugopal told the general body of the Society that met here on Tuesday that the 2009 edition of the race, accounts of which were passed on Tuesday, had raked in profits to the tune of Rs. 6.47 lakh. The Society has been running losses for several years now and was depending on sponsors and the Central and State Governments for conducting the event that will have its 58th edition this August.
A few glitches however, still remained, the Collector said. One was the pending payments from various Government departments, which were yet to pay the Society about Rs.2.54 lakh earned from ticket sales.
The tickets were given to various departments for sale before the event last year, but even after a year, the departments had not made the payments.
Pending payments to the Society also included a sum of Rs.10 lakh out of the Rs.11 lakh promised as sponsorship amount by the Union Government. The souvenir for the event too came in for criticism, with many complaining that distribution of the souvenir was not done professionally and effectively.
The meeting did not discuss the controversy over the Government proposal to have a cargo terminal at Punnamada, where the finishing point of the race is located. The proposal had led to widespread opposition with many fearing that the terminal might result in the venue of the Nehru Trophy boat race being shifted to another district. However, the Society is yet to air its official view on the issue.
