DINDIGUL
A total of 46 persons – 27 tamers and 19 spectators – were injured in the jallikattu held at Iyyapatti village near Natham near here on Thursday as part of Kaliamman – Karuppusamy Temple festival.
Fierce bulls that stood in the field for more than 20 minutes tossed the tamers and the spectators, mostly youths, and chased the crowd in all directions.
As some bulls gored the tamers, they ran for their safety and some climbed up the metallic barricade erected around the arena to escape from the charging animals.
When several tamers pounced on a particular bull, the organisers denied them the prize. The adamant tamers were finally removed from the arena.
Around 450 bulls from Dindigul, Tiruchi, Palamedu, Madurai and Alanganallur took part in the jallikattu. A total of 300 registered tamers were in the field.
All the bulls were tested by veterinary doctors, who blunted the sharp horns of some bulls. The tamers were also subjected to tests before taking part in the event. Only the registered bulls were allowed to pass through the ‘vaadi vaasal’.
Protection committee members congregated on the ground to regulate the tamers. A large number of police personnel were deployed to manage the crowd.
Children and women were standing behind the barricade to witness the event. The bull-taming sport was conducted at the village after a gap of 18 years.
Silver coins, cash, bicycles, cots and stainless steel vessels were given as prize to successful tamers and owners of untamed bulls.
The annual temple festival commenced with ‘kaapu kattu’ event last week.
