By The Hindu Bureau
Copyright thehindu
The 124th edition of the Thazhathangadi boat race will be held on the Meenachil river in Kottayam on Saturday, September 27.
The Thazhathangadi boat race is the third event to be staged as part of the Champions Boat League (CBL), in which snakeboats that secured the top nine positions in the Nehru Trophy Boat Race (NTBR) will participate. The regatta is organised by the Kottayam West Club, in collaboration with the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), Kottayam municipality and Thiruvarppu grama panchayat.
According to its organisers, the arrangements for staging the race are progressing under the leadership of the Kottayam municipality and Thiruvarppu panchayat. Works are on to deepen the river near the finishing point. Arrangements will be made in the main pavilion to seat 350 people and watch the boat race.
A cultural procession will be organised ahead of the boat race on Friday, September 26, a day before the boat race. The procession will start from the Kottayam West Club at Arattupuzha at 3.30 pm.
Competitions will feature various categories of boats, including chundan (snakeboats) and different grades of churulan, veppu, and iruttukuthi. Works are on to put in place a remote start system, photo-finish technology, racecourse track markers, and facilities for spectators on both sides of the river.
Dating back to 1887, the Thazhathangadi boat race is one of the oldest boat races in Kerala. Its origins can be traced to the period of the-then Diwan Peshkar T. Ramarao. Initially sponsored by the Travancore royalty, the race was held every year till 1985 and it was revived after a hiatus of 12 years.
