The competition involving bullock pairs pulling boulders and a procession stole the show on the second day of the Mungaru Samskritika Raichur Habba, an annual cultural festival organised by the Munnuru Kapu community, here on Monday.
In the boulder-pulling competition held at Rajendra Gunj in the morning, as many as 11 bullock pairs from the State and neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh took part. The weight of the boulder was increased from 1.5 tonnes on Sunday’s competition to 2 tonnes for Monday’s competition.
The bulls belonging to DVR Memorial Bulls Rides from Kannur in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, won the first prize (Rs. 60,000) by pulling the boulder for 3,685 feet in the stipulated 20 minutes. The pairs of Mahendra Naidu of Polakal village in Belagal Mandalam of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh and the pair belonging to Saddal Seenu of Gadwal town in Mahbubnagar district, Telangana, bagged the second (Rs. 45,000) and third (Rs. 35,000) prize by pulling the boulder 2,843 feet and 2,787 feet respectively.
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The former MLA, A. Papareddy, also a Munnuru Kapu community leader, distributed cash prizes to the owners of successful bullock pairs. Speaking on the occasion, the former MLA, P.S. Prakash, demanded that the government celebrate Mungaru Habba across the State. He commended Munnuru Kapu leaders for consistently organising the event for the last 16 years without a break. “The State government celebrates Dasara in Mysuru every year. It should also come forward to celebrate Mungaru Habba, the monsoon festival, which is closely associated with kharif sowing. Such celebrations are needed to continue our rich cultural traditions,” he said.
S.R. Reddy, MLA for Narayanpet in Telangana, Munnuru Kapu community leader Bellam Narasareddy and others were present.
In the evening, a procession of lavishly decorated bullock pairs was taken out. Veeragase, Kattivarase, Dollukunitha, Galihalage, Karadi Majalu, Garudi Gombe, Veerabhadra Kunitha, Nandi Dwaja,Kamsale and other performances amused the spectators.
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