Idukki: The quaint town of Kumily in Kerala’s Idukki district found itself swept up in a rather unconventional and dangerous spectacle on Friday, courtesy the Government of Kerala’s bullish sentiment of its Nava Kerala Sadas. 

All hell broke loose as the 10 bulls, a pair tethered to one cart each, charged ahead and ran amok through the town. The bull handlers, two on each cart, tried to chase the carts and control the animals. 

More chaos ensued as one of the wheels of a cart fell off after one of the bullock carts charged at a jeep that came in the opposite direction. People were bemused to see the cart, listing to its side and running on one wheel, still being pulled in full speed by the hapless bulls. 

At the same time, three carts reached the four-way junction near the bus stand and deviated from the route meant for the procession. Two of these carts collided and it was a lucky escape for one handler who was unhurt in the melee.

The Kumily police said the bulls got agitated as they were unexposed to the hustle and bustle of the town and the honking of vehicles. Eyewitnesses said the animals broke loose from their handlers near the Kumily bus stand and went their way, certainly unmindful of the procession that was to happen. 

It was by sheer luck that no one got trampled under the raging bulls as people took a while to realise that an unintended and unplanned ‘bull run’ was happening. The carts and the animals were brought in from Tamil Nadu to be paraded as part of the opening procession of the Nava Kerala Sadas. 

The public got into an argument with the police and said the bulls should not have been brought in without adequate precaution or notice. There was a massive traffic jam in the town as the ruckus had a cascading effect during the peak morning hours. Sources said the high number of vehicles carrying Sabarimala pilgrims and school buses accentuated the situation. 

Shopkeepers said that they were taken aback by the sight of speeding bullock carts with no handlers in sight. 

The Nava Kerala Sadas has been drawing flak for the way it is being organised. Opposition parties had flayed the government for spending unusually high amounts on ferrying the entire State Cabinet in a special bus across the state in the ‘guise’ of meeting people. They had said that the entire state administration was in paralysis as all Ministers were attending the Nava Kerala Sadas. The government is also facing criticism for ‘curating’ the meetings and being selective about the invitees. There are reports that people are being shooed off by the accompanying security detail if they arrive at the venue to give representations to the ministers. 

Political observers said the most successful meet-the-people campaign was undertaken by the Oomen Chandy government in 2011. It was called the Chief Minister’s Mass Contact Programme and it reportedly became an effective mass grievance redressal event wherein the chief minister settled complaints on the spot. 

Use of animals
The guidelines on the use of animals also seem to have been thrown to the wind in the organisers’ enthusiasm to add a rustic zest to the procession. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, says a bullock weighing 350 kg should be made to pull a load that is less than 900 kg in a two-wheeled vehicle without any pneumatic tyres for less than five hours alone in temperatures not exceeding 37 degrees Celsius.

The attempt to still harp on bullock carts also reflects a weak understanding of the cruelty inflicted on bovine animals that are usually docile by nature. This means animals like bulls are excited only if an external and brutal force is applied to them. In Tamil Nadu, Jallikattu bulls are often agitated by twisting and biting their tails. PETA had pointed to the use of nasal bores, terrifying knots, and other such methods to control animals. 

On the bright side, at least no one had the bright idea of parading elephants ahead of the programme.