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It was raining prizes at Palamedu
Though there were no bumper prizes like Royal Enfield bikes like last year, still it was raining prizes for winners at Palamedu. Gold coins were given to well-groomed bulls.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
Some of the prizes included LED TV, silver coins, bureau, cot, chairs, gift boxes, travel bags and large steel vessels. Mani from Palamedu stood first as the best bull tamer (had tamed 7 bulls). He was followed by Murugan and Villi, who had tamed five bulls each, and Sakthivel and Sivaraj, who had tamed four bulls each. Madurai Collector K Veera Raghava Rao honoured all the winners. Mani was given Rs10,000 by Sholavandhan MLA, Manickam.
Bulls of P Rajasekar, president, Jallikattu Peravai, and Sri Lankan Minister Senthil Thondaman topped the list of best bulls.
Rules in the arena
Three rules were followed by the bull tamers. They were banned from touching the horns and tail of the bulls. They were not allowed to lock the legs of the bulls and not more than one bull tamer was allowed to pounce upon a bull at a time. The Collector said that though all the rules were followed, 16 sustained injuries and one died during the event.
“Ten medical teams along with ambulances were stationed to cater to medical emergencies. Also, 12 teams of veterinary doctors were also stationed to certify the participating bulls. Around 900 policemen were posted for security near the arena. Apart from these, 40 fire servicemen along with four fire tenders were also kept ready to handle any contingency,” remarked the Collector.
AWBI member flags off jallikattu at Palamedu
The jallikattu at Palamedu commenced with a safety pledge in Madurai district, here on Monday. In an interesting turn of events, SK Mittal, member from Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), flagged off the event along with other ministers. It is said that he had come to see if the event followed all rules that had been stipulated by the Supreme Court.
During the inaugural function, Mittal was joined by State Revenue Minister RB Udayakumar. This was a pleasant surprise to jallikattu enthusiasts and a rude shock to animal rights activists.
Because of a legal tangle, Palamedu jallikattu could not be conducted in 2015 and 2016 but was held in 2017 after the historical protest, throughout the state.
However, the case in the Supreme Court and AWBI is one of the petitioners. Recently, a team of six members had been formed by AWBI to monitor jallikattu events and to report if there is any violation of rules laid down by apex court.
The team led by its convenor Mittal visited Madurai on Saturday and witnessed Avaniyapuram Jallikattu on Sunday. On Monday too, Mittal and his team were present on the stage.
446 bulls participate
After the pledge, five temple bulls entered the Vadivasal (entry point in a jallikattu arena). The temple bulls will not be tamed by the bull tamers and they will be collected at the Collection point.
After the completion of rituals, bulls started entering the jallikattu arena and the bull tamers pounced upon them. But, they could not control a majority of the bulls. The event was conducted in seven rounds with each round lasting for an hour and the active participation of 100 tamers. Jallikattu, which began at 8.30 am ended at 3.20 pm.
Though more than 1,000 bulls were registered only 490 bulls were brought to the event. While, 459 were declared fit, only 446 entered the Vadivasal. Similarly, more than 1,100 bull tamers had registered for Palamedu Jallikattu. Out of them, 927 bull tamers participated. Out of 927 bull tamers, 227 were declared unfit.
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