Bull race begins in 3 villages in Vellore; set to be held in Tirupattur, Ranipet

Annual bull race in Vellore villages during Pongal, with strict safety measures and guidelines in place.

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Coinciding with Pongal, the annual bull race began in three villages here on Wednesday with at least 150 bulls participating in each of these villages.

According to officials of the Department of Animal Husbandry, which monitors the sport, the villages — Panamadangi, Gudalavaripalli, and Sivanathapuram— come under K.V. Kuppam, Gudiyatham and Anaicut taluks. Around 80% of the total bull races are organised in these taluks due to the presence of more farming villages.

“Three veterinary teams have been deployed in each village to ensure the animals’ safety. Police and firefighters have also been roped in to prevent any untoward incidents,”G. Anduvan, Assistant Director, Department of Animal Husbandry (Vellore), told The Hindu.

A two-year-old bull was rescued from an open farm well in Panamadangi village near K.V. Kuppam into which it fell after running off the race track. The bull was reportedly agitated as a few spectators tried to catch hold of its horn. A team of fire fightersfrom Katpadi rescued the animal from the 30-foot-deepwell after an hour’s struggle.

Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi has issued detailed guidelines for conducting the bull races in the district.

Around 80 villages in Vellore will organise the sport till May. It will be held in three villages on all days except Sundays to prevent a huge crowd from thronging the ground. The norms mandate that bull races be held only for five hours on the main stretch in the village.