Kerala: Nehru Trophy Boat Race kicks off in Alappuzha's Punnamada Lake

The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is a famous annual snake boat race held in the Punnamada Lake near Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kerala, India.

Alappuzha: The 69th edition of the iconic Nehru Trophy Boat race has kicked off in Alappuzha's Punnamada Lake. The grand event was inaugurated by Minister Saji Cheriyan as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's chopper could not land due to bad weather.

The minister who inaugurated the event lauded the race's unity and noted that it served as the impetus for numerous additional boat races in the State. Following the opening ceremony, an energetic mass drill including all snake boats took place. District Collector Haritha B Kumar IAS, Ministers P Prasad, K Rajan, V Abdurahiman, Speaker M B Rajesh and more were present during the event.

The competition for small boats kicked off the event this morning at 11 a.m. The Iruttu Kuthi A, B Grade, and veppu boat events are currently over. By 3 p.m., the snake boat competition is anticipated to start.

This year's race has a total of 72 boats over nine categories, including 19 snake boats (chundan vallams).  The categories are Iruttukuthi B Grade, Iruttu Kuthi A Grade, Veppu A and B Grade, Churulan, Thekkanodi Thara, and Thekkanodi Kettu Boats. The snake boat category has five scheduled heats. The top four boats, as determined by the timings taken during heats, will advance to the final. The number of people who can operate a snake boat is 95.

The current champion is the Pallathuruthy Boat Club from Alappuzha, which has won the Nehru Trophy three times in a row. They won the championship on the boat known as Mahadevikaad Kaatil Thekkethil the previous year.