Bull taming turns gory in TN district; 80 hurt

Jallikattu, Tamil Nadu's traditional sport of taming the bulls, held in Palamedu on Wednesday -- a day after the Supreme Court lifted its ban -- turned 'bloody' for the participants as 80 of them were injured, having been gored by the rampaging bovines.

The event -- held as part of the harvest festival, Pongal, with fanfare -- attracted hundreds of people from the district as well as from the neighbouring areas. It was the first such event held after the apex court reversed its order and granted conditional permission following a petition by the state government.

Police officials said that of the 80 persons who were among 350 participants permitted to tame the bulls by holding on to their humps, sustained injured. Fourteen of them sustained major injuries, but their condition was stable. The event was watched by hundreds of spectators.

"The participants got injured in their attempt to subdue the bulls. They were either gored by the bulls, which were released one by one to the ground from the exit point or were tossed off," police officials told PTI.

Wednesday's event was held amidst tight security and direct supervision of top police and district officials.

Every year several people are killed and hundreds get injured while trying to hold to the hump of the bull for more than a certain distance for winning the contest.

As many as 500 bulls and 350 men took part in the event. About 300 police personnel were deployed at Palamedu.
 
The main 'Jallikattu' event will be held on Thursday at Alanganallur near Palamedu in which foreign tourists were expected to witness the sport.

The bulls were subjected to medical test by qualified veterinary surgeons prior to the event. Participants were also asked to undergo medical test. Frisking was done to ensure that they were not carrying sharp weapons like knife.

The 500 bulls, specially reared for the event, were brought from Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Sivagangai, Virdhunagar and Ramanathapuram.

Identity cards were given to both the bulls and participants. Barricades were erected to prevent the spectators mixing with the participants, officials said.

The winners were given gold coins, dhotis, shirts and cash prize.