The Tamil Nadu government, on Monday, January 10, issued a set of guidelines for conducting Jallikattu in the state in 2022. The government has said that COVID-19 guidelines shall be followed, in addition to the existing rules already put in place for Jallikattu in the state. Jallikattu and other events, including manjuvirattu and erudhu viduthal are traditional sports involving bulls, held across the state in January, during Pongal season.

As per the guidelines, it has been permitted to conduct Jallikattu, manjuvirattu (roughly translates into ‘bull chasing’) and vadamaadu (a different type of Jallikattu) events with participants not exceeding 300 persons, while a maximum of 150 participants are allowed in ‘erudhu viduthal’ event.

The government has also instructed that the events should be conducted in open space, with number of audiences restricted to 150 or upto 50% capacity of the arena (whichever is lower). All the participants, bull owners, audience, program coordinators and department officials must possess a vaccination certificate that shows that they have got two doses, as well as a negative RT-PCR result in the past 48 hours before the event.

Further, the guidelines state that  only one owner and one assistant per bull will be permitted in the event, and they should register themselves along with the bull. The registration work must be completed three days prior to the events and the participants must possess an identity card provided by the district administration.

All those present at the event are also asked to compulsorily wear masks and adhere to physical distancing norms while the event is on. The public is also generally urged to watch the live telecast of the events through internet and television.

The famous Jallikattu events in the state are held in Alanganallur and Palamedu in Madurai district, while several smaller scale events are also held across Tamil Nadu.