51 held for blocking Tiruchy- Madurai NH over refusal to conduct Jallikattu

According to sources, around 1,000 residents of Viralimalai and its nearby villages blocked the Tiruchy-Madurai NH after the district administration withdrew its permission for a jallikattu as part of the temple festival at Amman Kulam in the village. 

On March 13, officials had granted permission to conduct jallikkattu. Following this, the villagers made all arrangements to conduct the event. Later, officials requested the villagers to postpone the event to March 17. 

Meanwhile, the district administration instructed the villagers to conduct the event on March 28. Since they had completed all the formalities and had invited more than 300 bulls and 250 tamers for the event, the villagers said it would be impossible for them to postpone the event and blocked the NH. On information, several teams of police personnel from Pudukkottai and other parts of the district were rushed to the spot. Officials held talks to pacify the villagers, but in vain. 

At one point, the protesters pelted stones damaging the wind-shields of 10 TNSTC services and a private bus. The protest paralysed traffic on the stretch for more than an hour. Police later resorted to lathicharge and dispersed the crowd. On Friday, they registered cases against the villagers and arrested 51 of them.