Kerela’s “Vallom Kalli” is a world famous sport. The traditional snake boat racing draws a huge amount of spectators from all over the world. Vallom Kalli Held during the harvest festival of Onam is a pure display of strength, stamina, technique and speed.
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The 100 ft long boat carries more than a hundred contestants who peddle their snake shaped boat to the finish line with coordination. The snake boat racing is a big event and Nehru Cup is the biggest among them all. Being a sporting event on such a large scale, the teams have to depend on local patrons to organize such events.
The burden is rising on the local big shots to organise such mammoth events and the communist government has decided to lent hand to shape the event in a form of tournament to make it more appealing, according to the reports.
The meeting took place on Wednesday regarding the issue. C.K. Sadashivan, a legislator said,“We have requested for a special grant of at least Rs 4.5 crore from the government. Depending on how it goes, and how the private sponsors react, we will soon fix a prize money for the winning team,” after the meeting.
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“For the past several years, local clubs have been struggling with conducting the boat races. Something like the Nehru Trophy race will require above Rs 2 crore every year. This is our last bet to keep the tradition continue,” Sadashivan added.