70 boatmen participate in annual boat race on Kartik Purnima in Odisha’s Sonepur

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Bhubaneswar: The annual boat race was organised in river Mahanadi in Odisha’s Sonepur district on Monday.

Around 70 boatmen from different districts participated in the boat race at Tentuli ghat of Mahanadi. The boat race has been organised on the occasion of Kartik Purnima every year for the last 60 years.

During the competition, two boatmen on each country boat rowed in the river from Tentuli ghat to next ghat for a stretch of nearly 2 km. The winners of the race were felicitated at the end of the competition which was organised by Bhagavat Pathagar.

Sonepur SP Sumati Tripathy and OPDC chairman Abhimanyu Kushal were among others who were present during the boat race.

Besides promoting the skills of the boatmen, the boat race has been held in memory of the ancient trade practices on water routes in the district.