28 tamers, 14 owners hurt in jallikattu at Madurai’s Kalaignar Centenary Arena

MADURAI: Bull tamers and owners sustained injuries during a jallikattu event at Kalaignar Centenary Arena at Kilakarai village in Alanganallur panchayat union of Madurai district, on Sunday.

P Moorthy, Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration, flagged off the event in the presence of officials after an oath-taking ceremony by the tamers. The gallery was packed with crowds of spectators, mostly from Sholavandhan and its surrounding areas as the bull-taming sport was earmarked for bulls and tamers of the Sholavandhan assembly constituency.

Madurai Collector MS Sangeetha, RDO RD Shalini, and other officials were present at the event, sources said.

The sport commenced at around 6.30 am., and 13 rounds were conducted in total, with 54 persons including 28 tamers and 14 bull owners sustaining injuries.

As many as 1,284 bulls, lined up from various parts of the Sholavandhan constituency, entered Vaadivaasal and steered through the arena challenging the tamers who were eyeing the bull’s hump, sources said.

Clad in colourful jerseys in successive batches, tamers tried their best to taste the success. The best tamers were finally rewarded for their efforts and they were felicitated with prizes including gold coins, bicycles, and mattresses. DJ music was arranged at the arena to entertain the crowd.

According to District Health Officer P Kumaraguruparan, seven teams of doctors screened tamers as per standard procedure before every round of the event. Forty out of 711 screened tamers were rejected.

Besides several tamers and bull owners, 11 helpers, 3 spectators, and a cop were injured. Among the victims, ten suffered major injuries and were referred to Government Rajaji Hospital, said Dr Kumaraguruparan.

Animal Husbandry Department sources said of the 1,288 bulls screened by teams of veterinary doctors, four bulls were rejected.