ALAPPUZHA: For the coming boat races in Kuttanad, majority of ‘chundans’ (snakeboats) will have oarsmen from other parts of the state or country. The participants from Kuttanad are fewer compared to the previous boat races.The sponsors of boat races are now found to avoid the people of Kuttanad. Fifty one soldiers of Indian Army will take part as oarsmen for Muttel Chundan this time. They hail from Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other states and belong to Madras Engineering Group (MEG) of Indian Army.Kainakary United Boat Club member Viji K B told Express that they hired people from different areas including the Indian Army because youths in Kuttanad are showing less interest in boat races lately.Many boat owners hired people from other parts of the state, though it is true that there are lots of talented oarsmen in Kuttanad, he said.Earlier, many of the race boats were jointly owned by people from Kuttanad. Boat owners spend lakhs of rupees for participating in various boat races in a season. The money required is often raised through public contribution.In fact, they consider it as a matter of pride to participate and win a boat race under the label and jersey of their locality.Boat race season is an apt period for bringing up friendliness and unity among the people. But, now the enthusiasm in the natives of Kuttanad during boat races is seemed to be lessening due to reasons as such.
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