Eight trains cancelled as Jallikattu protest intensifies in TN

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], Jan. 22 (ANI): As many as eight trains were on Sunday cancelled and many partially cancelled in the wake of protests held across Tamil Nadu in support of bull-taming sport Jallikattu. Jallikattu made a re-appearance in the state today, claiming the lives of two men in Pudukottai. The traditional bull-taming festival was held in some parts of Tamil Nadu, even though locals in Madurai's Alanganallur, where Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam was expected to inaugurate the event, refused to hold the sport, demanding a 'permanent solution'. The state had passed an ordinance or an executive order -- which expires in six months -- that allows the sport this year. Thousands are continuing the protest in Chennai's Marina Beach. Jallikattu was earlier in the day inaugurated by Health Minister C. Vijayabhaskar in Pudukottai, where hundreds of youngsters took part. The protesters have said they will not allow the Republic Day celebrations at Beach Road until the Jallikattu issue is resolved. Dismissing claims that the Jallikattu ordinance was a temporary way out, Panneerselvam has promised to make the sport legal once the assembly session begins tomorrow. The Supreme Court earlier on Friday agreed to not deliver its verdict next week after the Centre pointed out that a decision could create law and order problems. Jallikattu, which sees young men wrestling with a bull in an open field during the harvest festival of Pongal, was banned by the Supreme Court in 2014. Last year, the Centre allowed the sport, but that decision has been challenged in the apex court. (ANI)