Nehru Trophy boat race postponed due to heavy rainfall in Kerala

Those who have been waiting with bated breath to visit Kerala’s Alleppey for watching the Nehru Trophy boat race conducted annually will have to wait more now. The 67th edition of the boat race has been postponed by the Kerala tourism department due to the possible risk from the ongoing heavy monsoon showers and flood.
The boat race in Alleppey was scheduled to be conducted on August 10 at Punnamada Lake.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was expected to flag off the boat race at 2 PM on Saturday. Along with Nehru trophy, the Champions Boat League (CBL) was also supposed to start with Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as the guest of honour.


This year’s Nehru trophy had 79 boats, including 23 snakeboats participating to win the coveted prize. Of the 23 snakeboats, 20 in number, including 9 CBL teams, were supposed to contest in the main race and the remaining ones were to take part in the exhibition race.

As many as 12 boat races under the CBL were aligned to be conducted from August to October 2019 with the objective of increasing tourist arrivals in Kerala. Given the unfavourable weather conditions in the state, it is very unlikely that all the boat races will be organised in the given time frame.
Since the Cochin airport operations are down till Sunday afternoon, it is another reason that will hamper tourist arrivals in Kerala. So far, Wayanad has been the most affected district where more than 22000 people have been evacuated due to the severe floods.