KERALA TOURISM NEWSLETTER
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ISSUE: 217 SEPTEMBER 2011
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President's Trophy Boat Race a big hit
To enthrall the thousands that flock every year to enjoy the rowing races of God's Own Country, Kerala has added one more event to the list - the President's Trophy Boat Race (PTBR). Organised by the District Tourism Promotion Council and the Kollam district administration, the first edition of the race held on the Ashtamudi backwaters turned out to be a big hit.
"Boat races are an ancient tradition of Kerala, part of the social, economic, religious and cultural life of its people," said the President of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil in her inaugural speech. She also said that the PTBR can make Kollam an important tourist destination.
Instituted in the name of the first citizen of India the race had the participation of sixteen snake boats. Veppu boats and two grades of 'iruttukuthi' boats also participated in the first edition of the event. Cutting through the stretches of the lake from Thevally palace to Boat Jetty,
Sree Ganesh snake-boat of Saint Francis Boat Club, Kollam, won the maiden trophy.
