Preparations under way for Madurai’s first jallikattu event at Avaniyapuram

Madurai: Preparations for the much anticipated jallikattu events at Avaniyapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur are in full swing.At Avaniyapuram, where the season's first jallikattu in Madurai kickstarts, work to prepare the area for the event is complete. The arena is being cleaned, and barricading work to protect the spectators is complete and double-checked. Eight feet tall wooden barricades, as well as barbed wire fencing, are set up to prevent the bulls from getting too close to the spectators. "The barricades are also set up to prevent some overzealous spectators from trying to enter the arena," an official said. He also added that traffic police prepared routes for the diversion of traffic on the day of the event. "While work on the vaadivaasal is complete, there is still some minor work to be done for the gallery above the vaadivaasal and the other spectator galleries," said a senior corporation official, who added that bull collection points, as well as points for medical checks, both for the bulls and bull tamers, are also being set up.The official said that drinking water and toilet facilities are also being prepared. "We identified a total of 18 spots to set up 1,000 and 2,000 litre tanks for drinking water. They will be set up in the coming week, along with mobile toilets," he said, adding that lighting work for the event will be done by Jan 13 or 14."This is the first jallikattu event this year, and it will set the tone for all the other events. To that end, Madurai corporation, along with police and jallikattu associations, are working in co-ordination to make the Avaniyapuram jallikattu a grand success," the corporation official said.