As many as 19 persons were grievously injured by raging bulls involved in a Jallikattu event at Avaniyapuram in Madurai on Sunday.
According to the revenue department of Madurai, 11 of the injured persons were undergoing treatment at Madurai’s Government Rajaji Hospital. Despite the incident, officials in the state Revenue department said the ongoing Jallikattu event will continue till 4 pm.
Also known as ‘Eru Thazhuvuthal’ and ‘Mancuvirattu’, Jallikattu started in full swing in three villages of Tamil Nadu’s Madurai on Sunday. The event coincides with the Pongal celebrations and is stated on the day of Mattu Pongal. It is a local bull-taming sport where a participant is supposed to grab the bull by the horns and tame it as it tries to shrug him off.
Further Jallikattu events are scheduled to be held in Palamedu and Alanganallur on Monday and Tuesday. Earlier in the day, Madurai District Collector Aneesh Sekhar said, “For (the Jallikattu) in Avaniyapuram, we have made all arrangements to ensure a smooth conduct of the event. We will ensure the safety of the bulls as well as the participants.
Three levels of barricading have been put in place to ensure the bulls don’t veer off the paying arena.” Only 300 bull tamers and 150 spectators are allowed in a Jallikattu event.