Kerala - Alappuzha   

Security for regatta to be stepped up

ALAPPUZHA: The security arrangements for the 55th Nehru Trophy Boat Race on August 11 will be made on an unprecedented scale, District Collector V.K. Balakrishnan said here on Wednesday.

He was inaugurating a Captains’ Clinic held as a precursor to the preparations for the event. Mr. Balakrishnan said police personnel from adjacent districts, apart from the Alappuzha force, would be roped in for the regatta.

Officers in mufti would be deployed at the venue. There would be an increase of over 200 police personnel on duty than in the earlier edition of the boat race, he said.

Twenty-five police boats would take care of the security of the race tracks while more would be at hand to tackle mischief mongers who swim near the tracks and try to obstruct the contesting boats. Closed circuit television networks would also be set up to monitor the crowd as well as the troublemakers, the Collector said.

The clinic, attended by captains of the participating teams and related authorities, saw the official announcement of tracks and sequence of the preliminary races.

Fifty-five boats will participate in various categories. Two ‘veteran boats,’ Parthasarathy’ and ‘Pulinkunnu’ chundans, will participate only in the boat procession preceding the race.

The meeting said filmmaker Fazil would announce the name of the official mascot for the event, selected from entries invited from schoolchildren, on July 28 at the District Collectorate.

The winner of the entry will be gifted books valued at Rs.500 given by from Current Books apart from a gold coin from Noor Jewellers and a gift voucher for Rs.500 from AVT Premium Tea.

The student will also win two entry passes to the event.

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