Preparations are in full swing for the 67th edition of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. The race will be held on Punnamada Lake here on August 10. The Champions Boat League (CBL) will also be kicked off along with this year’s Nehru trophy.
Subcollector Krishna Teja, who is also the secretary of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race Society (NTBRS), has reviewed the construction of the pavilion at the finishing point. He said here on Thursday all works related to the Nehru trophy were progressing well.
District Collector Adeela Abdulla inaugurated a conference hall of the NTBRS. A meet of the captains in connection with the race will be held at YMCA Hall, Alappuzha, at 11 a.m. on July 29.
47 boats
Officials said that 47 boats including snakeboats ( chundan vallam ) had registered so far for the race. “The registration will conclude on Friday. Allocation of tracks and heats will be done after the completion of the registration process,” said an official.
The snakeboats registered include Champakulam (UBC, Kainakary), Jawahar Thayamkary (Navajeevan Boat Club, Kottayam), Veeyapuram (Vembanad Boat Club, Kumarakom), Nadubhagam Chundan (Pallathuruthy Boat Club), Devas Chundan (NCDC, Kumarakom), St. George (Brothers Boat Club, Edathua), Churulan Velagadan (Sree Shakthi Eshwarathappa Boat Club), Kodi Matha (Malarvadi Boat Club, North Paravur), Sree Guruvayurappan (Kandassankadavu Town Boat Club, Thrissur), Sree Manneri Bhadrakali Bhagavathy (Yuva Shakthi Arts and Sports Club, Thrissur) and Vengayil Puthanveedan (Luna Boat Club, Karumadi).
Boats have also been registered under the Iruttu Kuthi ‘A’, Iruttu Kuthi ‘B’, Iruttu Kuthi ‘C’, Veppu ‘A’ and Thekkanodi categories.
Last year, after initial cancellation due to the deluge in August, the Nehru trophy was held in November. A record 81 boats including 25 snakeboats had participated in the 66th edition of the race.
Meanwhile, ticket sales have begun. The tickets, priced at ₹3,000 (tourist gold), ₹2,000 (tourist silver), ₹1,500 (rose corner, two persons), ₹800 (rose corner), ₹500 (victory lane), ₹300 (all view), ₹200 (lake view gold) and ₹100 (lawn) can be booked online or collected from counters.
