The team formed by the Animal Welfare Board of India for inspecting the conduct of jallikattu across the State, headed by its convener S. K. Mittal, visited Avaniapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur in Madurai district where the event is scheduled for this week.
According to officials, the committee reviewed the arrangements at these places and stressed the need for strict adherence to regulations. “Overall, it was satisfied with the progress of arrangements made,” a senior official said.
The committee will also be present at Avaniapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively, during the jallikattu, to monitor any violation of regulations.
Registration of bulls for the Alanganallur jallikattu happened on Monday.
A senior revenue official in charge of the conduct of the event said that 848 bull tamers and around 1,000 bulls were registered for jallikattu at Alanganallur. “The numbers are roughly the same for Palamedu,” he said.
Insurance
Meanwhile, the announcement by the district administration that all bull tamers must insure themselves under the Prime Minister Suraksha Bhima Yojana received a good response on Monday.
Collector S. Natarajan said that 499 tamers enrolled for the insurance by paying a premium of ₹ 12 (for one year) at Avaniapuram.
“This is a good response. I think all tamers, who take the sport seriously, have insured. It will generally be the same group of players who play at all three venues. Hence, we can be fairly sure that most of the players have insured themselves,” the Collector added.