MADURAI: Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin inaugurated the renowned Jallikattu at Alanganallur on Tuesday. A total of 1100 bulls and 400 tamers will be taking part in the event.
The Sports Minister kickstarted Jallikattu by waving the flag 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.
Only double-vaccinated tamers with RT-PCR negative certificates were allowed to participate. A total of 400 tamers have been registered after a health check-up. Over 1,1000 bulls have been registered to take part in the event, which is expected to go on till 4 pm. Totally 12 rounds would be taking place today, with each round lasting for 40 minutes. About 35 tamers would be permitted for each round. Bull owners could bring only one helper and both should satisfy the same conditions.
A total of three rounds have been completed at 10.05 am and 220 bulls, and 95 tamers took part in it.
During the third round, bulls raised by former minister Vijayabaskar, Tiruchy MLA Palaniyandi, leader VK Sasikala, actor Soori, and Sri Lanka Minister Senthil Thondaiman took part. A bull raised by Selvarani (Melur) gave a good performance and received appreciation.
Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) State Nodal Officer S K Mittal said, "the district administration has taken special care to ensure rules and regulations this year. Every year the sport shows good improvements, expecting that this traditional sport will soon appear in the Olympics."
A total of 2,000 police personnel were deployed around the Jallikattu area. Also, 10 medical teams have been posted at various points. A veterinary team of 11 members are said to be in charge of the medical examination of bulls.
Over 20 tamers sustained minor injuries. First aid was given on the spot with the help of ambulance employees, and they were later taken to Primary Health Center, Alanganallur.
All participating bull owners were gifted with gold coins. The best bull tamer and bull raiser would be gifted a new car. Other prizes include gold coins, grinders, gold rings, bicycles, television sets and other electronic devices among others.