Hotelier builds pool to train buffaloes

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Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsThese days innovative training methods are not limited to athletes.As Kambala fever grips Dakshina Kannada (DK), an Udupibased hotelier has built a swimming pool specially for racing buffaloes to train in.His craze for Kambala — a traditional buffalo race held in the slushy, muddy paddy fields of DK and Udupi district — led hotelier Vinu Vishwanath Shetty to construct a 10-feet deep, 40x45 feet swimming pool for buffaloes in Padebettu village near Padubidri.A native of Moodabidri- Karinje, Shetty has a chain of hotels in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and India. He bought land in Padubidri just to nurture his love for Kambala. In 1999, he began looking after racing buffaloes that have won him medals every year since then.At present, he owns 10 buffaloes, each costing Rs 5 to Rs 15 lakh. The pool, attached to a shed, has cost him Rs 20 lakh and another Rs 10 lakh to lay an interlock around the pool. It also has a bay for buffaloes to enter.Four motor pumps are used to fill the pool within 4 hours. Four more pumps are used to empty the pool for cleaning.“In the first year (1999) itself we had won 13 out of 15 medals in the undivided DK district. Our buffaloes have a record of running 140 meters in just 12.5 seconds. By giving them swimming exercise in 7-feet deep water, we want to reduce the time to 12 seconds,” the proud owner of Kambala buffaloes said.Showing one of his prized buffaloes, he said, “Pandu has never let us down. I just tell in his ears that this race is a matter of prestige for us, you shall win and he will simply give a nod and prove his mettle.” “We have donated whatever cash or gold we have won to temples in the area where Kambala takes place.We are around 40 members in a team. There is no worker as such, all are like friends,” he added.first published:September 15, 2012, 08:47 ISTlast updated:September 15, 2012, 08:47 IST
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These days innovative training methods are not limited to athletes.

As Kambala fever grips Dakshina Kannada (DK), an Udupibased hotelier has built a swimming pool specially for racing buffaloes to train in.

His craze for Kambala — a traditional buffalo race held in the slushy, muddy paddy fields of DK and Udupi district — led hotelier Vinu Vishwanath Shetty to construct a 10-feet deep, 40x45 feet swimming pool for buffaloes in Padebettu village near Padubidri.

A native of Moodabidri- Karinje, Shetty has a chain of hotels in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and India. He bought land in Padubidri just to nurture his love for Kambala. In 1999, he began looking after racing buffaloes that have won him medals every year since then.

At present, he owns 10 buffaloes, each costing Rs 5 to Rs 15 lakh. The pool, attached to a shed, has cost him Rs 20 lakh and another Rs 10 lakh to lay an interlock around the pool. It also has a bay for buffaloes to enter.

Four motor pumps are used to fill the pool within 4 hours. Four more pumps are used to empty the pool for cleaning.

“In the first year (1999) itself we had won 13 out of 15 medals in the undivided DK district. Our buffaloes have a record of running 140 meters in just 12.5 seconds. By giving them swimming exercise in 7-feet deep water, we want to reduce the time to 12 seconds,” the proud owner of Kambala buffaloes said.

Showing one of his prized buffaloes, he said, “Pandu has never let us down. I just tell in his ears that this race is a matter of prestige for us, you shall win and he will simply give a nod and prove his mettle.” “We have donated whatever cash or gold we have won to temples in the area where Kambala takes place.We are around 40 members in a team. There is no worker as such, all are like friends,” he added.