22 January,2017 08:37 AM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
With the ban lifted on Jallikattu following protests supporting the bull-taming sport, voices have risen across Maharashtra, asking for the lifting of the ban on the bullock cart races in the state
A bullock cart race organised at Desai village, near Dombivli
With the Tamil Nadu governor on Saturday passing an ordinance lifting the ban on Jallikattu following protests from several sections of society supporting the bull-taming sport, voices have risen across Maharashtra, asking for the lifting of the ban on the bullock cart races in the state.
On Saturday afternoon, more than 200 people, including representatives from various political parties - according to Shiv Sena MP Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil - and local villagers staged a protest on the Pune-Nashik Highway demanding that the ban on the bullock cart races also be lifted.
S Navle, a villager from the Rajgury Nagar in Pune district, said, "Now that the Tamil Nadu government has allowed Jallikattu, we want the Maharashtra government to lift the ban on bullock cart races, too, because the race is a part of our tradition. There are sections of animal welfare activists who say that bullocks have to face cruelty while running in the race, which is a false claim. The revenue that a farmer earns by doing agriculture is dependent on the pair of bullocks who work hard in the field and so, every farmer takes proper care of the bullock. It is, therefore, completely wrong to say that bullocks have to face cruelty."
In 2011, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) came out with a notification banning exhibition of training of bulls as performing animals. The next year in March, the Bombay High Court also banned bullock cart races. Following this, those in favour of the sport had approached the Supreme Court but the apex court upheld the July 11, 2011 notification from MoEF banning the sport.
The races, which involve carts led by two bulls racing against each other on a 400-metre track, were popular entertainment events in Pune, western Maharashtra and closer to Mumbai in Thane, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Bhayander and Palghar district. The sport allegedly also involved betting. Despite the ban, there have been instances where the races are still illegally organised.
In January 2016, a bullock cart race was to take place at Dasai village, Thane, but was cancelled after animal rights activists intervened and alerted the local police. In January 2015, five people from Bohonoli village in Thane district were arrested for organising such a race.
It's not just the villagers of Rajgury, various groups in support of lifting the ban on bullock races have been formed on social networking sites. There's also a Facebook poll, created as recently as Saturday morning, asking visitors if they are in support of lifting the ban or not.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, which is the ruling party BJP's partner in the state government, is also planning to start a campaign to revive the race. The issue is also expected to be raised by local politicians during the upcoming gram panchayat and local corporation elections.
