Fifty-two persons, including three spectators, were injured in a jallikattu at Iyyampatti near Chinnamanur in Theni district and 18 tamers injured at Maravapatti in Dindigul district on Sunday.
At Chinnamanur, six seriously injured tamers were referred to the Government Theni Medical College Hospital at Gandamanur and four were treated at Chinnamanur Government Hospital. Others were treated at a special camp at the village.
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam inaugurated the event. Collector N. Venkatachalam presided over. About 10,000 spectators from Chinnamanur and nearby areas witnessed the event, according to officials.
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Meanwhile, a team of bull owners from Mannargudi announced that three bulls participated in the jallikattu in the name of R.K. Nagar MLA T.T.V. Dhinakaran.
The organisers reserved a space in the spectators’ gallery for the students who fought for the cause of jallikattu.
Several ferocious bulls tossed youths in the air and chased them in all directions. They did not allow any one to come close to them. A majority of tamers were perching on barricades and on fences to safeguard themselves from the ferocious bulls.
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Courageous tamers and bull owners were honoured with attractive prizes.
Around 600 bulls from Theni, Cumbum, Bodi, Andipatti, Chinnamanur, Dindigul, Natham, Alanganallur, Madurai and Thanjavur took part. Around 500 tamers participated. They were sent in batches to play.
Sufficient force was deployed to manage the crowd and spectators. Veterinary doctors too checked the health of all registered bulls.
Dindigul
A total of 17 tamers were injured in the jallikattu held at Maravapatti as part St. Antony’s festival of St. Adaikala Maadha Church here on the same day.
The injured were treated in the medical camp held at the village. In a fiery battle, several bulls stood in the field, posing a grave threat to tamers. Sometimes, tamers employed different tactics to subdue bulls.
A total of 375 bulls from Dindigul and nearby districts and 281 tamers took part. Only 13 bulls and two tamers were rejected on technical grounds. Special prizes were given to tamers as well as bull owners.