A record-breaking jallikattu event held at Viralimalai near Pudukkottai on Sunday saw the participation of 1,353 bulls and 700 tamers. During the event, two spectators were also gored to death and nearly 40 bull-tamers were injured.
The victims were identified as Ramu, 32, of Illupur in Pudukottai district and Sathish Kumar, 35, of Jeeyapuram in Trichy. They were gored to death by bulls coming out of the vadivasal.
Ramu died while being taken to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial government hospital and Sathish succumbed to his injuries at the Manapparai government hospital.
The event was earlier flagged off by the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami along the Trichy-Madurai highway, with lakhs of people lined up to witness the event.
A team from Worldkings – World Records Union, London, gave the certificate for the world record for being the largest jallikattu event till date, which lasted more than nine hours.
Muruganandam of Trichy who was adjudged the best tamer and another Muruganandam from Rapusal in Pudukottai district were each given Maruti Alto 800 cars as prizes. Around 700 bicycles were also given away.
Elaborate arrangements were made at Viralimalai for the huge event. From large galleries for spectators to barricades installed for crowd control, a large number of police personnel were deployed and parking facilities were also made available. The bulls for the event were brought in mini-trucks from neighbouring districts like Tiruchy and Pudukkottai.
Inaugurating the event, Chief Minister Palaniswami said, “Jallikattu stands out as a symbol of Tamils’ valour. By conducting such a grand event, Viralimalai has grabbed a place in the list of jallikattu-famed places like Alanganallur, Palamedu and Avaniyapuram.”
Meanwhile, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar announced that the event will become an annual affair from here on in Viralimalai.
Source: The News Minute