Jallikattu supporters continued their protest at the VOC Ground on Sunday demanding that the State Government bring about a “permanent” solution by amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in the Assembly.
In the morning, the core group of protesters - more than 3,000 people - continued their protest at the ground. The roads leading to the ground were relatively free of traffic as the number of vehicles parked had considerably reduced. However, the crowd increased gradually.
Volunteers
Volunteers continued to serve breakfast to the protesters.
R. Balasubramani from Saravanampatty said that a group of friends from the locality served pongal, vadai, sambar and chutney to the protesting students in the morning.
R. Sekar and a few others from Madhampatty, as a show of support, sponsored food for around 1,000 people. This was a good beginning and should extend to issues such as Cauvery and Siruvani that affect the State, Mr. Sekar said.
A software engineer from Ganapathy, K. Mohanraj, said he had been volunteering during the weekend by removing empty water sachets and food packets at the venue. He sought a ban on organisations that were behind the ban on jallikattu.
School students S. Sai Nikhil and S. Hariharan said they volunteered from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on Saturday and would stay a bit longer on Sunday. After their parents encouraged them to go, they took a bus all the way from Kalapatti to VOC Ground, they said. Near the protest venue, students, youth, and residents gathered to watch traditional dance performances and also danced to drum beats. Outside, youngsters went around shouting slogans on cars and goods carriers.
Students of Government Law College, Coimbatore, gave up their three-day fast by accepting fruits. They would, however, continue the protest.
A few students took out a mock funeral procession against popular multinational aerated drink brands. The owners of a fruit shop in Race Course destroyed aerated and fruit drinks of popular multinational brands, to express solidarity with farmers. By evening, the crowd swelled to around 30,000, as members of the public returned to the venue. Women and children led the sloganeering.
