Chennai
Every year, the Palamedu Jallikattu competition is held on the day of 'Mattu pongal'. Accordingly, Minister RB UdhayaKumar flagged off the event, today in the presence of Madurai district Collector T Anbalagan.
While around 651 players have registered, over 800 bulls are participating in the competition. Organisers have said that only 25 players will be allowed inside the arena at a time.
Initially, the temple bulls were released into the competing arena from Vadivasal, following which the 'Jallikattu' bulls will be released. The competition is expected to continue till 4pm, today.
The Tamil Nadu government had granted permission to hold traditional bull-taming sport Jallikattu with certain restrictions.
As per the directive, the number of players cannot be more than 150 at an event and COVID-19 negative certificates have been made mandatory for players.
The number of spectators has also been restricted to 50 per cent of the gathering.
ALSO READ: Jallikattu begins at Madurai's Avaniyapuram
Earlier yesterday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Avaniyapuram to witness the jallikattu event.
The Supreme Court (SC) in 2014 banned 'Jallikattu' after a plea was filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) but the state government insisted that Jallikattu was a crucial part of its culture and identity.
The ban was later lifted in January 2017 with an amendment to the law after massive protests in Chennai.
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