Village level committees constituted for the conduct of ‘jallikattu’ at Avaniapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur near here on January 14, 15 and 16 respectively find themselves in a fix as the district administration has insisted that the ‘Vadivasal,’ a narrow passage through which bulls squeeze into the arena, should be at least three feet wide.
Collector L. Subramanian inspected all the three sites on Saturday. At Avaniapuram, he found that the Vadivasal created by erecting tree trunks was only 2.5 feet wide. “Normally bulls would be at least three feet wide. Therefore, if you make them squeeze through such narrow space, they might suffer bruises. Extend the width by three inches on both sides,” he told the organisers.
Sought for his reaction, P. Rajasekaran, president, Tamizhar Veera Vizhaiyattu Peravai, said that the bulls would not turn ferocious and would not be able to provide wholesome entertainment for the gathering if they were not made to pass through a narrow passage.
“The whole idea is to entertain the audience. It would not happen if the bulls are made to walk in to the arena without any provocation,” he said.
This year around 600 bulls were registered for the Avaniapuram event, 700 for Palamedu and 650 at Alanganallur. The district administration had ordered that all the three events should be held between 8 am and 2 pm.
It rejected requests made by the organisers to extend the timing by even an hour in order to accommodate all the registered bulls.
“Last year, the officials ordered closure of the Vadivasal by 1.59 pm and many bull owners had to return back disappointed after spending Rs. 5,000 to Rs.10,000 for bringing their bulls from neighbouring districts. Hence, we requested the Collector to extend the timing by just one hour. But he refused. Now, we have no choice but to rush up things,” he said.
Meanwhile, the revenue department officials have been issued with a 25-point checklist to ensure that the events were conducted without any complaints. It includes taking undertakings from bull owners and tamers, double barricading the spectators’ gallery, obtaining stability certificates from Public Works Department and organizing medical teams at the venues.
