22 injured in ‘jallikattu’ during Pongal
At least 22 people including a police constable were injured in a jallikattu or bullfight organised as part of Pongal harvest festival at Palamedu in Madurai district last week.
Jallikattu allows bulls to run through wooden barricades where matadors who are mostly amateurs try to tame them with bare hands.
Thousands witnessed the event in which bulls from Madurai, Theni, Sivaganga, Salem, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruchy, Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram took part.
At Avniapuram in the same district, a bull escaped from the barricades on to the main road and died when a bus hit it.
Jallikattu was held in several other districts too.
In recent years, the Tamil Nadu government has laid strict rules to prevent accidents. It has made barricades compulsory for spectators, doctors and ambulances are kept ready for emergencies and bulls, its owners and fighters are medically checked before participation.
Cantilever bridge damaged
The 100-year old Pamban cantilever bridge that has a railway line was damaged when a barge towing a grounded ship hit it in coastal Rameshwaram district.
The Pamban railway bridge is India’s first sea bridge and has been active since 1914.
Reports said the ship was grounded due to strong currents and wind.
The railways halted Rameshwaram-bound trains and asked commuters to travel by road on the adjacent Pamban flyover.
The authorities have also filed a case against a Kolkatta-based company that manufactured the barge. Railway officers began repair work after an assessment and conducted a trial run within a week.
GI mark for Madurai jasmine
The Madurai malli or jasmine flowers have been given Geographical Indication or GI mark, a government copyright for its unique fragrance and beauty.
The flower cultivated in Madurai, Virudhunagar, Theni, Dindigul and Sivaganga districts has a musky fragrance, lengthy petiole and large petals. It also buds late, ensuring longer shelf life and thicker garlands.
The GI mark is a regional copyright given to certain products that are exclusive to that area. Based on GI norms, growing Madurai jasmine in other districts or faking other flowers in its name has become punishable.
Madurai jasmine is exported to many countries and is considered auspicious for festivals, functions and prayer hall decorations.
Officer’s wrist chopped off
Tension gripped Theni district after a revenue officer deputed to regulate cable television services of state government-owned Arasu cable television was stabbed by Velmurugan, who runs another cable distribution network, last week.
Reports said Murugesan had recently cancelled Velmurugan’s licensce over alleged malpractice. He also refused to renew it despite Velmurugan’s requests. An angry Velmurugan reportedly waylaid Murugesan, chopped off his wrist and stabbed him on neck and chest.
One more DCI member held
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested Dr R Gunaseelan, a member of the Dental Council of India (DCI) and president of its Tamil Nadu chapter, for demanding a bribe of Rs7.5mn from a private college last week.
Earlier his colleague Dr Murugesan was arrested for a similar charge.