Chennai: Thousands of enthusiastic supporters of jallikattu hit the streets across Tamil Nadu on Tuesday demanding release of those arrested by police in Alanganallur and conduct of the traditional sport despite the Supreme Court ban.
The youngsters, mostly college students, thronged the Marina beach in thousands as early as 6 am and the crowd swelled as the day progressed.
Marina became the epicentre of the Jallikattu protests on Tuesday as several politicians, including Opposition Leader M K Stalin, actors and social activists came there to express solidarity with the protesters.
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and popular chatting app WhatsApp came to the aid of the organisers who mobilised the crowd in record time. As news of protesters in Alanganallur arrested by police spread like wildfire on Monday night, messages asking youth to assemble at Marina Beach in Chennai and important places in their towns and protest against the “high-handedness” of the police in picking up agitators and lodging them at marriage halls in near-by villages.
What started as a gathering of around thousand people swelled into a huge protest on the Marina beach with more than 5,000 to 6,000 people gathering and shouting slogans against Peta and the Union Government for not taking steps to allow jallikattu by bringing an Ordinance against the order of the SC.
Kamarajar Salai overlooking the Marina Beach dotted with human faces through Tuesday as vehicular traffic was affected on both sides of the road. Crowds thronging the MGR memorial on the road also added to the traffic snarls.
As the magnitude of the protest increased in the afternoon, police launched peace talks with the agitators asking them to call off their protests. But the students refused to budge from their stand unless CM O. Panneerselvam came and held talks with them.
“We have converged here to demand conduct of jallikattu. It is our right to protest and police has no business in asking us not to protest. We are protesting to protect our values and culture,” Jayalakshmi, a protestor in Marina, said.
Another protester, Ramkumar, said the students would leave Marina only after getting an assurance from the Tamil Nadu Government that jallikattu will be held this year.
