14 tamers injured in jallikatu

DINDIGUL

Fourteen tamers were injured in a jallikattu held at Iyyapatti village near Natham as part of Sri Kaliamman Sri Karuppusamy Temple festival on Monday.

The event started with the release of the temple bull through the vadivasal. During the event, several bulls stood in the field and refused to allow any tamer to touch them, thus fetching prizes to their owners. Similarly, a few tamers overpowered the bulls and won prizes.

Prizes in the form of gold and silver coins, steel bureaus, bicycles, chairs, vessels, dhotis, towels and clocks were given to tamers and bull owners.

The temple committee had made elaborate arrangements for the event. Tamers were divided into several groups and allowed to tame bulls in batches. Spacious arena and protection provided by the temple committee members ensured safety of the tamers and spectators.

A total of 313 bulls and 250 tamers from Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Sivaganga, Tiruchi and Ramanathapuram districts took part in the event.

The injured were referred to Dindigul Government Hospital for treatment. Those with minor injuries were treated at the special camp at the village. Sufficient police force had been deployed at the village. Medical and veterinary teams checked tamers and bulls respectively. The event was monitored by Revenue Divisional Officer Jeeva.