The Coimbatore Jallikattu, held after 38 years, in Chettipalayam, near here on Sunday, turned out to be a grand success as over 2,000 persons witnessed the sport from 10 a.m. to 5.20 p.m. As many as 433 bulls and over 300 players participated in the event in which 25 of them suffered minor injuries.
The event began after a two-hour delay at 10 a.m. with Municipal Administration, Rural Administration and Special Projects Implementation Minister S.P. Velumani inaugurating it with a prayer. AIADMK legislators and Members of Parliament were present at the inauguration as were senior district administration officials. Omkhar Foundation had organised the event in association with Coimbatore district administration.
The first to cross the ‘vadi vasal’ was the temple bull from the Karivaradharaja Temple in Saravanampatti. It was followed by bulls from 17 districts that included Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar Tiruchi and Salem. The players were also mostly from the 17 districts, the organisers said.
Animal Husbandry Department officials said they inspected and certified each of the bulls that crossed the ‘vadi vasal’ to enter the arena. They checked the age, health and sharpness of the horns and looked for injuries on the animals’ body and if the animals were fed alcohol. Health Department officials checked the players for fitness and if they had consumed alcohol. Player John of Kadambur, Salem, said he was happy to participate in the Coimbatore Jallikattu and was looking forward to win prizes, as he had won a few in jallikattu events held in the recent past.
Animal Welfare Board of India Member S.K. Mittal said he was happy with the arrangements in Coimbatore, specifically about the safety of visitors as a few untoward incidents involving them had taken place in previous events.
Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Peravai president P. Rajasekar coordinated the events at the ‘vadi vasal’ The Peravai and Omkhar Foundation volunteers released the bulls one at a time into the arena, where players waited to latch on to the hump.
The first session had around 60 players, the second around 100 and the third and fourth had similar numbers, said R.S. Thirumugam, district in-charge of the Peravai. After every hour or so, the organisers asked the players in the arena to move out and ushered in the next set of players, all of whom were given uniforms with numbers.
If the players won, they got prizes that included cash, gold coin, saree, household articles or automobiles.
Karthik of Mettupatti, Salem, won the first prize for best player and walked away with a car. The second prize went to Kodi of Mattaparai, Dindigul, and the third prize went to Karthik of Kattur. They walked away with two-wheelers. The first prize for rearing the best bull went to Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Peravai president P. Rajasekar, who also won a car.
