ALAPPUZHA, KERALA: AUG 19: Thithi thara thithai, thithi thara thithai.Kerala's backwaters reverberate with these rhythmic verses that accelerate a snake boat during the racing months of August and September, setting a perfect prelude to welcome the harvest festival Onam.But if the recently concluded Nehru Trophy boat race is any indication, this major tourist attraction is slowly losing its charm, bedevilled with inadequate funds, sheer mismanagement and lack of sponsors. A perfect irony to the state government's ad blitz advertising Kerala as `God's Own Country'.The Nehru Trophy boat race conducted in Alappuzha's Punnamada lake on August 12, is the most prestigious among several tourist-luring races conducted across the state.But instead of pulling in the revenue, this year's race exhausted a Rs 25 lakh reserve fund, as sponsors could be roped in only for only eight out of 16 snake boats that participated.Snake boats are manned by four helmsmen, 25 singers, 100-125 oarsmen who row in unison to the fast rhythm of vanchipattu (song of the boatmen), have always been a feast to the eye with thousands of people crowding the water edge to cheer the huge black craft as they slice through to a spectacular finish.However, the state government's repeated requests to the Centre for funding this race have been turned down thanks to confusion over whether it should be termed a sport or a tourist event. The sports ministry doesn't recognise it as a sports event and the tourism ministry is unwilling to acknowledge it as tourism event.Despite all this, the race used to garner its funds through sponsorship. That was until recently, when the sheer mismanagement of the organising committee ensured the shrinkage of even these funds.The race, which incurs an aggregate expense of over Rs 50 lakh, is managed by a working committee under a revenue development officer, a district level state government official, with representatives including the district collector, irrigation engineer and sponsors.According to the committee's stringent norms, sponsors do not have a choice in selecting their boats. Several restrictions are laid down on advertising options. A sponsor has to cough up a minimum Rs 40,000 as initial sponsorship fee and approximately Rs 3 lakh for maintaining the boat over 10 days. This also includes a Rs 40,000 rental to be paid to the boat owners, usually individuals, boat clubs and housing societies or karas.``With all these expenses and unwanted restrictions, we do not see any business sense in sponsoring boats,'' shrugs a sponsor, who abstained from the show for the first time. Desperate, the state government asked the Alappuzha-based Coir Marketing Federation to pitch in and sponsor a boat.Says Roy Palathra, a committee member: ``The committee has now become a political body with representatives favouring certain groups and members appointed who don't have any clue of boat racing.'' There is a dire need to reconstitute the committee, he says.For this year's race, the committee started talking to sponsors just four days prior to the event. This, coupled with restrictions on advertising options, put off sponsors. ``As expected the race evoked a feeble response,'' says Palathra.Flagging off this year's race, Union tourism minister Ananth Kumar assured central funding for building a permanent stadium for the show, currently served by a make-shift stadium. He did not however, assure the committee on funds for the race.If the cash crunch wasn't enough, this year's race was also marred by charges of favoritism. It was alleged that the winning Chundan (snake boat) was allotted track 3 with lesser water density, which increased its winning prospects. Dodging this latest charge, the committee retorted that other boats had won in the tracks during the qualifying races.
