KURNOOL: The committee members of Jambula Parameshwari Temple in Nandyal town of Kurnool district have been organising donkey races during Jambula Parameswari Jathara for the past six years. The animals are made to carry sand sacks weighing a back-breaking 150 kg and run across two poles for ten minutes. The equine that clocks the maximum number of laps is declared the winner and will earn its owner Rs 15,000. The first and second runners up will take home Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.
Organisers claim the event celebrates the symbiotic relation shared by humans and donkeys. “The objective is to save the identity of the donkey and explain to youngsters the symbiotic relationship between donkeys and washermen,” temple committee chairman G Venkateswarlu said after the event on Friday.