The Jallikattu event at the famed Palamedu in Madurai passed off largely incident-free, barring injuries to 25 people.
A bull belonging to Ramesh from Dindigul district was adjudged the winner. Tamer Prabakharan from Pothumbu near Madurai, who caught 16 bulls, was adjudged the best bull tamer and was given a car as a prize. Efforts made by the district administration and the police to enforce safety regulations imposed by the Supreme Court has helped in minimising injuries to tamers and accidents behind the vaadivasal (entry point to the arena).
A total of 2,000 policemen were deployed for the event and the arena was completely double-barricaded. “We have also ensured that only two members accompany each bull at the queue behind the vaadivasal ,” said Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan.
Proper safety arrangements and regulation of bulls at the waiting yard has reduced the chaos behind the vaadivasal , said M. Elangovan, Honorary State Animal Welfare Officer, Animal Welfare Board of India. “They have also allowed bulls to the examination point in batches of 50. This has ensured that there are no accidents behind the vaadivasal. Also, through proper check, the officials have ensured that there are no duplication of tokens for the bulls,” he said.
There was sufficient water and green fodder available for the bulls. “This is the first time the district administration had erected shamiana for bulls in the holding area,” he said.
District Collector T.G. Vinay said that the number of tokens issued after the registration of bulls was restricted between 700 and 750 to avoid overcrowding of bulls. A total of 936 tamers took part in the event and each player was let into the arena after clearing necessary health check-up. The officials and organisers who were monitoring the event, largely ensured that the players who violated the rules were promptly removed from the arena.
However, owing to inadequacies in the regulation of the crowd and the bulls near the collection point,the place where the bulls exited the arena, a considerable number of injuries were sustained by spectators and bull owners near the spot.
Occasionally, bulls returned from the collection point to arena and at a point even four bulls were present at the arena. “Though police personnel were present at the collection point, the crowd swelled in the afternoon, and the wooden barricades were broken by them,” said M. Sarathkumar, a spectator from Alanganallur.
