Intermittent showers did not dampen the spirit of the students who have been engaging in protest demonstration in support of jallikattu for the fifth day continuously on Saturday.
Braving sharp showers, the students congregated at Tiruchi Road junction since morning raising slogans against PETA and demanding permission to conduct jallikattu. They wanted a permanent solution, like amendment to PCA, to the crisis and not a temporary solace to conduct jallikattu for this year alone. The girl students were enthusiastic since morning. They performed ‘kummi attam’ to entertain themselves.
Support for the students has been swelling on the fifth day also. Nursing students from private nursing colleges and government nursing colleges took part in large numbers. A section of nurses in government hospitals too joined the state-wide stir. Five members of Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association came to the spot with a big banner to show their support to the protesting students.
Around noon, more than 3,000 students, majority of them being girls, were at the demonstration spot. A few villagers came to the spot with jallikattu bulls through Palani Road.
Organisers had spread plastic sheets on the road to enable the students to sit on the road. Thin plastic tarpaulins were also brought to the spot to cover the area. Sufficient stock of plastic sheets was kept as reserve to meet the need. Raincoats, caps and plastic covers were distributed to women to cover their faces. Meanwhile, three major vegetarian and non-vegetarian hotels in the city offered food, coffee and other eatables to the demonstrators. Biscuits were also served to them frequently.
But public addressing system was not provided to them. Students said that their throats were their speakers.
Meanwhile, other sections of people staged demonstration and took out procession at various places in the district. Villagers took out a procession at Mannavanur on upper Kodaikanal hill supporting jallikattu. Similar demonstration took place in Theni district also.
