- Joined
- Apr 22, 2022
- Messages
- 106
- Points
- 83
Tamil Nadu CM announces new stadium for Jallikattu
This was among a slew of announcements that Tamil Nadu chief minister Stalin made to improve infrastructure for sports ranging from those played at the Olympics to traditional ones such as Jallikattu and Silambattam.
Published on Apr 22, 2022 01:13 AM IST
ByDivya Chandrababu, Chennai
Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Thursday announced a massive arena for Jallikattu in the Alanganallur town in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district.
This was among a slew of announcements that Stalin made to improve infrastructure for sports ranging from those played at the Olympics to traditional ones such as Jallikattu and Silambattam.
The controversial Jallikattu (bull-taming) sport is conducted annually during the three-day harvest festival of Pongal every January. The announcement has brought much joy to the organisers. “Jallikattu is part of Tamil Nadu’s culture and pride, and every year there is more focus on Alanganallur, but there is no facility for thousands of spectators who come in to watch. We usually seal a street and have a gallery that can accommodate more than 200-people,” Madurai Jallikattu Peravai’s president P Rajasekhar told HT. “If there is a separate stadium–we believe the government is planning to set it up across 80-100 acres–it will include a separate area for players, spectators, and parking facilities. Right now, we can’t even provide a toilet. It will also be helpful to have easy access to hospitals via ambulances. We hope it will become a known address like Chennai’s Nehru stadium, and like how cricket has a stadium, it is a great opportunity for jallikattu to have a separate stadium.”
Jallikattu has gone through legal tangles. In 2014, the Supreme Court banned the event following an appeal by the Animal Welfare Board of India and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). But political parties and sections of people in the state wanted Jallikattu to continue, saying the sport is part of Tamil Nadu’s tradition and culture.
In 2017, protests erupted across the state demanding to lift the ban on Jallikattu. The then Tamil Nadu government, led by the AIADMK un, animously enacted legislation to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 to preserve the cultural heritage and ensure the survival and continuance of native breeds of bulls. Last August, the Madras high court ruled that Jallikattu can be conducted only with native breeds of bulls and prohibited using imported, hybrid and cross bulls. Ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi was one of the spectators of jallikattu on the first day.
According to PETA, at least 22 bulls and 69 humans have died, while more than 4,696 humans have been injured since the Tamil Nadu government legalised Jallikattu in 2017. Due to Covid-19, in the past two years, Jallikattu has been conducted with several conditions such as a double vaccination and a negative RT-PCR test not older than 48 hours have been mandated for players, spectators and officials in charge of conducting the event.
“At a time when Spain is increasingly using former bullrings for concerts and museums instead of killing bulls, announcing the development of a new jallikattu arena puts Tamil Nadu in the Dark Ages in the eyes of the world,” Dr Manilal Valliyate, CEO, PETA India told HT. “Cruelty to animals, children, the elderly, or any other vulnerable being is morally repugnant and must not be institutionalised, or we fail in our obligations to evolve as a nation. All civilised, kind and decent people worldwide believe that blood sports, certainly including the shameful jallikattu, should be relegated to the history books. Taxpayers’ money should not go into such an abomination, and cruelty to bulls could be prevented by setting up multiple mechanised rodeo bulls in the proposed stadium. PETA is ready to help with that transition.”