Ker postpones Nehru Trophy boat race for second year due to floods

Thiruvananthapuram: The iconic Nehru Trophy boat race, a much-awaited annual spectacle in Kerala and scheduled to be held on Saturday, has been postponed for the second consecutive year following floods.

The race in Alappuzha, a major tourist attraction which sees ‘chundan vallams’ (snake boats) competing in Punnamada Lake, used to be held on the second Saturday of the month of August every year.

Though it was slated to be held on August 11 last year, authorities had to postpone it to November 10 due to massive destruction caused by the deluge, the worst faced by the state in the last 100 years.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday that in the backdrop of the incessant rains and inclement weather, the government had decided to postpone the 67th edition of the boat race.

The first edition of the Champions Boat League (CBL), the country’s first water-based sports league patterned on the popular IPL, was also scheduled to be kicked off along with the Nehru Trophy.

A large number of spectators including foreigners used to throng on both sides of the lake to cheer the oarsmen who row the boats through the placid waters in vigorous space.

Considered as one of the biggest water sport events in the country, the Nehru Trophy boat race wasinstituted to commemorate the visit of the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the area and his boat ride in the lake.