S.K. Mittal, the convener of Animal Welfare Board of India’s (AWBI) team for inspecting the conduct of jallikattu, said the traditional sport should continue forever and it was the responsibility of all the stakeholders to ensure that the sport was cruel-free and pain-free to the bulls as well as humans.
Speaking to the media after the jallikattu at Palamedu in Madurai district on Monday, he said the sport must continue since it was part of the culture and tradition. “There is also the need to protect the native breeds of bulls...If we are not able to continue this traditional sport, are we going to give to our next generation,” he asked.
Rules observed
On the conduct of the sport in Palamedu, he said, barring few ‘small mistakes’ and ‘human errors’, all the regulations and safety measures were properly adhered to.
“However, I watched the sport from the dais. Other members of my team were present at different spots like the place where the bulls were screened and where the medical teams were present. I am yet to get their feedback,” he said, adding that a final report on the event would be prepared after receiving everyone’s inputs.
Stressing that the monitoring of the sport by AWBI must not be seen as a State government versus Central government issue, he said the idea was to work together and ensure that all the rules were followed so that the sport did not get banned again.
“If the rules are not followed, the Supreme Court may ban the sport again, which may lead to mass protests in Tamil Nadu like what we saw last year,” he said.
Mr. Mittal jointly flagged off the event in the morning along with Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar, Madurai Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao and few other dignitaries.
