TIRUCHY: A new year will dawn soon and with it the jallikattu season will begin. Bull owners are preparing their animals for competitions amid hope that the DMK government would fulfil its 2021 poll promise of providing monthly incentive of Rs 1,000 to native bull rearers at least this year.
A Ravikumar, state president of the Social Justice Council, on Monday submitted a petition to the Tiruchy district collector urging the DMK government to implement its poll promise of providing monthly maintenance assistance of Rs 1,000 to jallikattu bull owners.
He also sought the withdrawal of the online registration system for Jallikattu events, alleging that it was discriminatory and gave inadequate priority to locally reared bulls. The reminder about the poll promise comes vociferously from Pudukkottai, which traditionally hosts Tamil Nadu’s first jallikattu of the season at Thatchankurichi (January 3), and organises a high number of competitions annually.
Bull owners say though jallikattu is the state’s cultural symbol, the economic burden of preserving native bulls falls entirely on farmers. Breeders say they spend close to Rs 500 a day to feed and maintain one jallikattu bull, and argue that Rs 1000 incentive is critical to sustaining the animals during long periods without competitions.
“Even when there are no competitions, expenses do not stop,” said Ganesh Karuppaiya of Mangadevanpatti, who maintains 50 bulls. “Feed, training and care are daily necessities. The Rs 1,000 monthly incentive is modest, but it helps small farmers survive the off-season,” he said.
Nizam of Bose Nagar, who owns 29 bulls that travel across State for competitions, said prolonged intervals in events often force difficult choices. “If bulls are not taken out for a year, maintaining them becomes very hard. Some farmers are pushed to sell their bulls,” he said.
Kumar (45) and K Thiruman (22) from Kumappatti in Pudukkottai, who bought three bulls for Rs 6,000 each six years ago and raised them from calves, said the incentive would act as recognition for their work.
“Prize money is not profit. It only helps us manage costs. The monthly assistance would support families like ours,” he said. Organisers echo these concerns. Suriyur Jallikattu Raja, an organiser from Tiruchy, said repeated representations had been made to the government. “Many farmers are already indebted. Institutional support can prevent distress sales and protect native breeds,” he said.
Mudakathan Mani, a bull trainer from Madurai, pointed out that the incentive announced in 2021 remains unimplemented. “Details and Aadhaar data were collected, but has nothing moved forward since. We spend nearly Rs 500 a day on feed.
The incentive of Rs 1,000 is a less amount, but even that would make a difference,” he said. He added that even last week they gave representation to Madurai district collector, urging the assistance money.
While Assembly elections are yet to be announced and restrictions may again affect the number of events in 2026, bull owners stress that implementing the long-pending incentive now would provide immediate relief and acknowledge their role in preserving Tamil Nadu’s indigenous cattle heritage.