Owners of over 100 pairs of buffaloes interested in Mysuru kambala, says association president

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Owners of more than 100 pairs of buffaloes on Tuesday expressed their willingness to participate in the Mysuru kambala, slush track buffalo race, to be organised by Mysuru Dasara Utsava Samiti tentatively on October 18 and 19, according to Belapu Deviprasad Shetty, president, Karnataka State Kambala Association.

Referring to decisions taken at a meeting of stakeholders of kambala at Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada Mr. Shetty told The Hindu that the samiti is yet to officially invite the association to hold the kambala. “The samiti is yet to communicate how many pairs will be allowed to participate in the race,” he said adding that the association will extend all co-operation to the samiti to organise the kambala.

The framework of Mysuru kambala will be finalised after the samiti and association hold a joint meeting, Mr. Shetty said.

General secretary of the association Vijayakumar Kanginamane said that the meeting decided that, henceforth, starting with the kambala season of 2026-27 in the State’s coastal belt, a kambala jockey can handle only one pair of buffalo in each of the four categories of race. The categories are naegilu hiriya and naegilu kiriya and hagga hiriya and hagga kiriya. In case, if a family (or owner) has two pairs of buffalo participating in separate categories of race it will be considered as A and B and a jockey will be allowed to handle both of them.

Mr. Kanginamane said that about 180 jockeys aged between 18 and 25 will be provided training in swimming at Karkala on September 12 and 13. Later, they will be trained in handling the buffaloes during the race, yoga, and physical fitness at the Miyar kambala track from September 16 to September 26.

The kambalas of 2026-27 in coastal region will begin on November 7, 2026. In all, 27 kambalas will be held both in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts during the season, he said.