The State’s first jallikattu of the season was held at Thatchankurichi village in the Gandarvakottai taluk of Pudukottai district with traditional fervour on Saturday, ahead of the Pongal festivities. Twenty-two persons were injured, and 11 of them were referred to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital at the end of the event at 3.30 p.m.
Those referred to Thanjavur included eight bull tamers, an owner of a bull, a spectator and a member of the event organising committee. The others were treated by a medical team at the venue.
Ministers S. Raghupathy and Siva V. Meyyanathan flagged off the event from a makeshift stage at 7:30 a.m. Mr. Raghupathy administered the oath to the tamers in the presence of District Collector I.S. Mercy Ramya.
The bull-taming sport attracted thousands of spectators, many of them trying to catch a glimpse from the terrace of houses around the arena; some even climbed onto the barricades to view the event.
As many as 571 bulls were released into the arena one after the other through ‘vadivasal’ and about 300 tamers took the field. Bulls were brought from Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Salem, Namakkal and neighbouring districts to the village in mini freight carriers. Hundreds of bulls were lined up on the Sengipatti-Gandarvakottai Road, leading to diversion of vehicles for several hours.
The authorities had put in place safety measures to ensure the safety of the bulls and spectators, including double barricading and screening of the bulls. “A team of veterinarians screened all bulls to ensure that they were of a prescribed height and subjected them to a dope test before they were sent to the vadivasal,” S. Ramachandran, Joint Director, Department of Animal Husbandry, Pudukottai, told The Hindu. A total of 415 police personnel were deployed to regulate vehicular traffic and control the crowd that thronged the venue. A 20-member medical team was stationed to treat the injured persons, and a fleet of ambulances was also deployed to rush them to the nearby hospitals.
Organising committee members and sponsors distributed cash prizes, motorcycles, plastic chairs, iron cots, and stainless steel utensils to bull owners and tamers.
As directed by the Madras High Court, the committee resolved not to mention the name of the bull’s owner with his caste while untying the bulls.
