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Jallikattu a popular and ancient bull-taming sport underway in Palamedu of Tamil Nadu's Madurai district on Feb 9, 2017IANS

Another season of the controversial bull taming sport Jallikattu is back with a bang in Tamil Nadu.

A big Jallikkattu contest, to be participated by 500 contestants from 17 district of Tamil Nadu, is all set to take place in Chennai on January 7, 2018. 

The organisers, Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Peravai and Chennai Jallikattu Amaipu, have already unveiled the logo for the event which will be held on January 7, 2018 in a plot opposite the Madras Crocodile Bank on East Coast Road of the city.

Twenty raging bulls will be left in the pit in every round and the participants from 17 districts of will be divided into five groups. Each group will have to undergo three rounds. One team will be eliminated after each round and a good reward money will be given to the winning candidate.

The  event will be broadcast by Zee Tamizh on the Mattu Pongal day. The bull sport is at the centre of a legal battle in the Supreme Court, which is yet to release a final verdict on Jalikattu. 

Rajmohan Arumugam who hosts the program said, "Majority of people in the northern Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, have not witnessed jallikattu, the sport of the valiant (Veera Vilayattu)."

He added, "Though thousands of students gathered on the Marina beach to demand a law allowing the sport to be held last January, not many had seen it."

The organisers of Jalikattu also said that the state government has given the go ahead for the even. Bulls belonging to MPs and MLAs will also be participating in the event.

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In picture: A man hugging the hump of a bull as part of Jallikattu celebrations.Wikimedia Commons

They further said that Jalikattu this year will be inaugurated by prominent personalities, but stopped short of revealing the names, considering the model code of conduct (MCC) in place for the R K Nagar bypolls.

The organisers said that arrangements for adequate rest for the cattle when they were being brought from Madurai, Salem and other parts of the state, have been made.