NE NEWS SERVICE
MADURAI, JAN 17
Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin inaugurated the adventure sport of Tamils, Jallikattu, at Alanganallur on Tuesday. A total of 1,100 bulls and 400 tamers took part in the event amidst tight security measures.
The Sports Minister kickstarted Jallikattu at 7.24 am in the presence of Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P Moorthy, Minister for Finance and Human Resource Development PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, District Collector Dr S Aneesh Sekhar, Corporation Commissioner Simranjeet Singh Kahlon. The collector administered the oath to the tamers.
- Tamil Nadu Minister for Sports and Youth Welfare Udayanidhi Stalin flags off the Jallikattu event.
- At least 53 people were injured in Alanganallur Jallikattu and ten of them received grievous injuries during the dangerous sport.
- A total of 1,100 bulls and 400 tamers took part in the event amidst tight security measures.
The bull taming sport began with traditional sporting fervour and streams of energetic young men raced against time to dominate the robust bulls and emerge victorious. As the bulls jumped and leapt forward from the ‘Vadivasal,’ the entrance to the sporting arena, filled with sand and hay, men on the sideways tried to embrace the bulls by clinging on to the hump.
Sometimes, it was the tamers who won, while bulls outwitted them on several occasions. Organisers announced on the public address system, if it was the bull or man who won.
At least 53 people were injured in Alanganallur Jallikattu and ten of them received grievous injuries during the dangerous sport. This comes just a day after two people lost their lives and several others were injured while taking part in Jallikattu.
The Jallikattu festival is considered a dangerous sport in which people injure themselves while trying to tame raging bulls. The winners are given two-wheelers, clothes, jewels, and money, and several youths participate in the Jallikattu events in Tamil Nadu during the festival.
