Kodai lake teems with boats, courtesy 2-day race

Putting in their best to cover the nearly 4.5-km wide stretch between 8.30 am and 12.30 pm by rowing, the competition saw contestants of various age groups. Bavanisankar G, president of the Kodaikanal Boat and Rowing Club, and chairman of the Boat Race Committee, said participants in the age category of five to 70 competed.

The event was classified into categories that included men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles. Those in the age group from 10 to 14 were in the sub-junior category, while those in the 14-18 category were ‘juniors’ and those above 60 were in the ‘elders’ category.

However, unlike last year where over 300 tourists participated, this year’s rowing competition saw the registrations come down to 215, Bavanisankar told DT Next. With many hotels and lodges remaining closed and sealed by enforcement agencies over alleged violations, it attributed to a decline in tourists’ flow, he said.

Bavanisankar also claimed that the Kodaikanal Boat and Rowing Club was being fleeced by municipality officials. The municipality authorities were charging a steep rate of Rs. 6,000 per hour for rowing in the lake, he said.

When contacted, Kodaikanal Municipal Commissioner R. Murugesan said since boats being maintained by the municipality turned immobile owing to the rowing competition, it suffered a loss of revenue. Only to compensate the loss was such amount being collected from the competition’s organiser. This status quo has been maintained for many years now, the Commissioner said.