After a gap of 27 years, the Indira Gandhi Boat Race is all set to stage a comeback.
The ongoing Champions Boat League (CBL) is holding its fifth round in Ernakulam on October 5 .
The Indira Gandhi Boat Race (IGBR) at Marine Drive was begun following the killing of Indira Gandhi when she was Prime Minister. The inaugural edition had her son, Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded his mother in the Prime Minister’s Office, as its chief guest.
But the event hit an abrupt end in 1992.
Of the 12 races of the 2019 CBL rolled out by Kerala Tourism featuring nine snake-boats, the Kochi leg will be held along a 960-metre stretch of the backwaters along the first Goshree Bridge and Marine Drive boat jetty.
CBL will professionalise the snake-boat races scattered across the State, according to Tourism Secretary Rani George. Tourism Director P. Bala Kiran said it would be a “game-changer”.
