MADURAI
Collector T.G. Vinay clarified on Friday that bull tamers aged between 18 and 45, who maintained good health and met other criteria specified by the Health department, could take part in jallikattu events to be conducted in Madurai district.
An official communication from the district administration on Wednesday had stated that only those aged between 21 and 45 could take part in the events at Avaniyapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur.
Speaking to The Hindu on Friday, the Collector said the decision to fix 21 years as the minimum age initially came from a report submitted in 2018 by the Health department which said most participants who sustained injuries were in the age group of 18-21. “Hence, there was a recommendation in this regard. However, there has not been any formal communication. Those who were above 18 years and maintaining good health would be allowed to take part,” he said.
Pon. Kumar, a jallikattu enthusiast from Alanganallur, said the people between 18 and 21 years were usually college students, who were now deeply interested in jallikattu. “Although this news will be received with joy, they will have lost a day in registration. If they had clarified in advance, many youth would have queued up on Friday itself,” he said.
Dr. Vinay said there would not be any problems in extending the date for registration for the three events. “I will inform my staff to permit those who are between 18 and 21 years to participate tomorrow (Saturday) morning as well,” he said.
On the first day, 800 applications were received, of which 55 were rejected. The 745 participants selected for the event satisfied the conditions put forth by the administration, including having a body mass index between 19 and 25.
Valarmathi, a Block Medical Officer (BMO), who is overseeing the registration of bull tamers, said those with chronic diseases like asthma and hypertension and orthopaedic problems would not be allowed.
