Various boat clubs within and outside the district are engaged in arranging practice sessions for the oarsmen taking part in the Nehru Trophy boat race being held at Punnamada here on August 13.
Sixty-six boats including 25 snake-boats, the larger ones, are participating in the race this time. Practising sessions for a week have been made mandatory for the snake-boats with a view to improving their performance. The bonus given to boats by the organisers will be reduced if the boats are not engaged in the stipulated minimum practice.
A contest to predict the winner of the coveted annual boat race is being organised by the Nehru Trophy Boat Race Publicity Committee. The winner will be given the P.T. Cheriyan memorial award with a purse of Rs.10,001 in cash.
Entries should be sent in A4-size white paper, enclosed in a stamped envelope, marked ‘Nehru trophy prediction contest-2016.’
The entry should contain the name of the snake-boat, the sender’s name, address and phone number. Entries on post cards will not be considered, according to the organisers.
Each contestant is allowed to predict the name of only one boat.
Rejection
The entry containing more than the name of one boat will be rejected. The entries should reach the organisers before 5 p.m. on August 11. The entries should be sent to: The Convener, Nehru Trophy Publicity Committee, District Information Office, Civil Station, Alappuzha 688001. More information will be available on phone 0477 -2251349.
The publicity committee organised a colouring and painting competition for students earlier this week. About 1,000 children including nursery students participated in it.
