31 people were seriously injured in Jallikattu at Balamet in Madurai district on Monday. A cowherd died after the bull was thrown away.
877 bulls and 345 cowherds had registered to participate in Palamedu Jallikattu. Before the start of jallikattu, cowherd warriors under the leadership of Minister B. Murthy, Collector S. Aneesh Sekhar and Superintendent of Police R. Sivaprasad took the oath in Wadivasal area.
Subsequently, Balamedu temple bulls were brought to the gate in a respectful procession in the evening and pujas were held.
After this, first the Balamedu Ayyanar temple bull was untied. Subsequently, the bull belonging to the Mahalingam Mutt, the Bhadrakaliamman temple bull, the Balamurugan temple bull and the Pattalamman temple bull were untied in a row.
Subsequently, the bulls registered at Jallikattu were released through Wadivasal. The cattle handlers were divided into groups and each group was given a chance to tame the bulls for 2 hours.
Many bulls stood and played on the field without being caught by the players. At the end of each round, the players who performed well in taming the bulls were awarded and they were given a chance in the final round. Those who caught bulls’ horns and tails in violation of the rules were disqualified and expelled.
Some of the bulls threw away the soldiers who tried to restrain them with their horns. Some of the bulls came from behind and kicked the soldiers who tried to catch them with their feet. Some bulls circled the field several times for more than 10 minutes and threw the players.
In Jallikattu, which was held in 9 rounds, 860 bulls were untied and the competition ended at 5 pm.
12 soldiers trying to control the bulls, 15 bull owners, 9 observers, reporter and police inspector were seriously injured.
The medical team camped at Palamedu treated the injured soldiers and sent them to Vadipatti Government Hospital, Palamedu. There the doctors examined and sent 11 seriously injured people to Madurai Government Hospital. Of these, two are in critical condition and others are being treated as inpatients.
14 cowherd players who impersonated in Jallikattu by changing T-shirts were disqualified and expelled. In the examination conducted by the veterinary department, 8 unfit bulls were expelled.
Cowherd killed: Aravindarajan was taming 9 bulls on Palamedu North Street in Madurai district when one of the bulls gored him and threw him away. In this, the seriously injured and unconscious person was rescued by the medical team and taken to Madurai Government Hospital. But he died there.
Shower of prizes: Two wheelers, gold, silver coins, biro, bicycle, cot, washing machine, grinder, mattress, silver punch lamp, egg were given to the bull tamers and the owners of the uncaptured cows. The jallikattu competition was organized by the animal welfare committee and the members watched it under the leadership of Mittal.
3,000 policemen for security: Under the leadership of South Zone Police Chief Asra Kak, Madurai Sarga Deputy Chief Ponni and Madurai Rural Surveillance Constable R. Sivaprasad monitored the security arrangements. 3 thousand policemen including 8 additional superintendents of police, 9 sub-superintendents and 82 police inspectors were involved in the security work. More than 600 government employees from various departments including revenue and public works participated in jallikattu arrangements.
Lok Sabha member S. Venkatesan, Legislative Assembly members A. Venkatesan, M. Bhoominathan, Corporation Commissioner Simranjeet Singh and important personalities participated.
In Jallikattu this year, additional viewing booths were set up to accommodate more viewers. LED screens were set up in Palamedu Municipality office, bus stand and Jallikattu telecast.