Coimbatore to become home for Alanganallur bulls

About 200 bulls that tested the adrenaline rush and guts of youth at the famous Alanganallur Jallikattu will be brought to Narasipuram—about 30 km from the city—home for the rest of their lives.

Managing Trustee of the Velliangiri Goshala, Narasipuram, P. Siva said that a few days before Pongal he came to know that prize bulls worth Rs. 2 lakh, when they raced down Jallikattu tracks, were sold for about Rs. 40,000 for slaughtering as the owners of the bulls were disappointed after the sport was banned.

“Since then our team camped at villages around Madurai and studied the ways and means to protect the bulls and to prevent them from being sold for meat’’,” he said and added that four such methods met with failure.

He said that the villagers and bull owners were surprised when the trust offered to buy the animals and nurture them at their centre in Coimbatore.

He said that president of the Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Peravai P. Rajasekaran played an important role in interacting with the owners of the bulls at Alanganallur, Palamedu, Melur, Usilampatti, Vadipatti, Bodi and Ayanavaram areas and helped them buy the bulls.

Breeds

So far the Goshala has sourced about 175 Sindhu, Kangayam, Vadakathi, Kedaimaadu, Malaimaadu and country breed bulls and are in the process of sourcing 25 more bulls. Mr. Siva said that some of these bulls were bought for Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 40,000 and a few donated by persons who did not want their animals to bow before the axe.

Owners handed over the bulls to the trust on condition that the bulls will be taken to Alanganallur (if the ban on that sport was lifted) and that they were allowed to see their bulls anytime at the Goshala.

Arrangements have been made for the bulls at Narasipuram.

Lodging facility has been built for about 15 youth of Madurai, who came forward to take care of bulls and keep them in sound health through constant practice.

This is with a ray of hope that the ban on Jallikattu would be lifted and the animals here will participate in it.

Public would not be allowed to see the animals for two months as the bulls would be agitated due to the change in climatic conditions and environment and would require time to adapt to the conditions here.

These bulls would take the total number of bulls maintained by the Goshala since its founding about four months ago at Narasipuram to 700.

The existing 500 bulls, cows and calves maintained by them were mostly those that were taken for slaughtering – and were rescued by the volunteers of the trust.

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