MADURAI: In protest against the collector's order, barring them from conducting Avaniapuram jallikattu under the name of their village committee, more than 150 villagers took to the streets, on the second consecutive day, and blocked the road here on Tuesday.
On the first day of protest, over 100 persons took part. Over 50 were arrested and were released in the evening. On Tuesday, over 150 villagers gathered near Avaniapuram bus stand for a hunger strike. As the police denied permission for the strike, the villagers blocked the road during the peak hours in the morning.
The collector's order to jointly organise the event by constituting a committee with representatives from all the communities was issued after three peace committee meetings were convened by the district administration following the row over who should conduct Avaniapuram jallikattu - the Avaniapuram Village Committee or the Thenkal Pasana Vivasayigal Sangam.
However, preparations for the event are underway. Madurai SP Manivannan, South Zone IG Shanmuga Rajeswaran and DIG Annie Vijaya inspected the preparations at both Palamedu and Avaniapuram here on Tuesday.