Alanganallur gets ready for the Designated-day

Among the jallikattu events, the one held at Alanganallur is the only event organised by the state government. As the event is conducted on Friday, the preparatory works are on in full-swing and on the verge of completion. After inspecting the ongoing works, Collector held discussions with officials of Revenue and Police departments and then visited Vadivasal where he checked the arrangements to station the bulls. Then he visited various galleries that were setup at the jallikattu arena. 

During the inspection, he spotted banned cone shaped speakers and asked the organisers to replace them with box speakers. Then he asked the jallikattu organising committee members to make sure that the galleries were strong enough to hold the crowd and suggested setting up a separate gallery for media personnel. 

Speaking to the media persons, he said that with the coordination of all the major departments including the revenue, police, health and veterinary all the works were being carried out. For this year’s jallikattu, 980 bulls have registered and 1,497 bull tamers have qualified to participate in the sport. Screening would be done for both the bulls and the bull fighters on the day of the event. 

Thirteen mobile medical teams would screen the bull fighters and also would be present at the arena to treat the injured participants. Eight ambulances would also be present to take the injured bull fighters to the hospitals in case of emergencies. These measures apart, two veterinary ambulances would also be present to shift the injured bulls. 

Six LED screens would also be placed to screen the event at various places. More than 2,000 policemen will be stationed for duty and the traffic will be diverted. A separate parking space for vehicles will also be arranged. DMK working president M K Stalin is expected to witness the historic event on Friday.

Jallikattu, conducted at a lesser known village of Thottapanayakkanur near Usilampatti in Madurai district on Wednesday after a gap of 15 years, witnessed much enthusiasm both from the bull tamers and the spectators, with minor organising lapses.

Owing to lack of patrons and enough sponsored gift materials, jallikattu was discontinued in the village after 2002. However, following the amendment allowing the sport after two years of ban, Thottapanayakkanur too sought permission to conduct jallikattu along with other villages. The district administration examined the conditions and granted permission. 

Around 400 bulls participated in the event and a large number of bull tamers participated in the event. Prizes such as stainless steel utensils, bureaus, cots were distributed to successful tamers. However, there were a few lapses noticed during the event. On one occasion, two bulls were let through the Vadivasal, creating panic among tamers and spectators. 

Only a few youngsters sustained injuries in the event and no bull was hurt. Madurai Collector K Veera Raghav Rao participated and presented gifts to the bull fighters and bull owners. When he was about to leave people thanked him for giving permission to conduct jallikattu in their village.