Champakulam Moolam vallam kali will be held on the Pampa river at Champakulam on Monday

The calm backwaters of Kuttanad are about to come alive, sending boat race enthusiasts into a frenzy. On Monday, the Champakulam Moolam 'vallam kali' (boat race) will take place on the Pampa river in Champakulam. In the next months, the Moolam boat race will be followed by a slew of events around the area and the rest of the state. The 69th edition of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race (NTBR), often known as 'Kuttanad's Olympics on water,' is expected to take place on August 12. The NTBR is also expected to be the inaugural race of the Champions Boat League (CBL) this year.

Major boat clubs have planned ahead of time, for the season. The teams competing in the CBL each spend more than a crore. Officials from Pallathuruthy Boat Club (PBC), which won the CBL with Mahadevikadu Kattil Thekkethil Chundan last year, claim they started planning for the 2023 season six months ago. 

"The PBC will not compete in the Moolam boat race." In the Champakulam race, however, our rowers will be powering Ayaparambu Valiya Diwanji chundan for Valiya Diwanji boat club. The PBC, on the other hand, will row in the NTBR and other CBL races under its own name aboard Veeyapuram chundan. To prepare for the NTBR, we have set up 1.15 crore, including 50 lakh for rowing wages. Our rowers have already completed a 10-day trial run in preparation for the Champakulam race. "We will begin rigorous training for the upcoming big races on July 10," said PBC president V. Jayaprasad.

Agriculture Minister P. Prasad will kick off the Moolam race at 1.30 p.m. The race will begin at 3 p.m. Kodikkunnil Suresh, MP, will distribute prizes to winners. The race begins at 3 p.m. Winners will be awarded awards by Kodikkunnil Suresh, MP.