Chennai: At least 22 bull tamers suffered injuries as season’s first Jallikattu or bull taming festival got underway with much fanfare in Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai district on Sunday. Minister for Environment and Climate Change Siva V Meyyanathan flagged off the Jallikattu event.

The Jallikattu event was earlier scheduled to be conducted on January 6 but got delayed due non-compliance of the guidelines issued by the Pudukkottai district administration.

The Jallikattu event kick started with the release of over 300 bulls in the sporting arena built in Thachankurichi village for the event. There were around 350 tamers waiting for the bulls to tame and show their bravery.

The young men and the winning bulls will win prizes like a motorbike, pressure cooker, cots in the event. In addition to Pudukottai district, the Jallikattu sporting event is also organised in Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur districts.

As a precautionary measure due to the Covid-19 situation, the district administration has made it mandatory for the bull tamers to produce vaccination certificates before participating in the event. The same applies for the spectators too.

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