Jallikattu: Two Die in India Bullfight as Protests Continue

Two men have been gored to death in a bull-wrestling festival, as protests to permanently lift a ban on the controversial sport continue.

Dozens were also injured during the event, in Rapoosal, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Jallikattu was banned by the Supreme Court in 2014. But the government temporarily allowed the sport on Saturday, after large-scale protests.

Police are clearing protest sites, but about 5,000 remain in Chennai (Madras).

BBC Tamil reported that protesters were refusing to leave the city’s iconic Marina beach.

It added that the police had cordoned off the area, and all roads leading to the beach had been blocked.

Railway authorities also cancelled 19 passenger trains on Sunday, fearing protests on the tracks.

Meanwhile, several villages and towns in Tamil Nadu held jallikattu events on Sunday, attracting huge crowds.

Subduing angry bulls has long been practised in the state as a sport and is a key part of the harvest festival.

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Image captionJallikattu sees bulls released into a crowd of people who try to ride the animals

The court had banned jallikattu on the grounds that it was cruel to animals.

Animal rights activists say the spectacle causes unnecessary stress to the bulls who are released into a crowd and forced to fend off people trying to ride them.

Many in Tamil Nadu, however, are against the ban as they see jallikattu as an important part of their cultural heritage, and also say it ensures the preservation of native breeds of bulls.

In recent days large demonstrations have been staged in the state capital Chennai (Madras) calling for the practice to be fully re-legalised.

Most ministers in the state government including Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, as well as Tamil celebrities such as Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman, support jallikattu.