Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P. Moorthy on Tuesday announced that Chief Minister M. K. Stalin will inaugurate the world-famous Alanganallur Jallikattu on January 17.
The announcement was made after the muhurtha tree-planting ceremony for the Alanganallur Jallikattu was held at Alanganallur in Madurai district. The ceremony was inaugurated by Minister P. Moorthy, marking the formal beginning of preparations for the traditional Tamil sport.
Speaking to reporters, the Minister said preparatory works were under way to conduct this year’s Alanganallur Jallikattu in a more organised manner than in previous years. He confirmed that the Chief Minister would personally inaugurate the event on January 17. He also said that Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin will inaugurate the Palamedu Jallikattu competition on January 16.
Leaders from various political parties, along with large numbers of spectators and Jallikattu enthusiasts, are expected to attend the events. Referring to prizes, the Minister said that instead of the traditional car given to the best bull tamer, a tractor will be awarded this year, following demands from farmers’ organisations and workers’ associations.
He said all arrangements would be carried out under the supervision of Madurai District Collector Praveen Kumar. Crowd management measures will include rotating spectators every hour, and a digital scoreboard will be installed to display competition details. Minister Moorthy assured that all necessary safety and administrative steps had been taken to ensure the smooth and incident-free conduct of the competitions. The muhurtha ceremony was attended by District Collector Praveen Kumar, local MLA Venkatesan, members of the festival committee and the general public.
