PUNE: More than 350 bullock carts took part in a race at Landewadi in Ambegaon tehsil of Pune district on Friday.
It was the first such race organized in the district after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on these events last December, the organizers said.
"It is a two-day event. On the first day, over 350 bullock cart owners took part," said former Shiv Sena MP from Shirur, Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, who is the main organizer of the race.
Cart owners from Pune as well as neighbouring Ahmednagar district participated in the race which was conducted by adhering to all the conditions laid down by the apex court, he added.
The carts (each pulled by a pair of bullocks) raced individually down a 400-meter track, without a human driver.
The winners were decided as per the time clocked by each cart.
"At least 14 bullock carts came in the top category by finishing in 12 seconds," Adhalrao-Patil said.
Bullock cart races, a popular sport in rural Maharashtra, were banned in 2014 on the ground that they amounted to cruelty to animals.
In December 2021, the SC lifted the ban.
These races are among main attractions at village fairs.
Race aficionados claim that these events also benefit the rural economy.