MARGAO
With the police launching a crackdown on bull fights in the State, the All Goa Bull Owners Association have made a fervent plea to the NCP leadership to take up the issue of legalising the bull fights in the State.
After the Association members called on NCP MLA Churchill Alemao and party observer for Goa Narendra Verma at Varca on Thursday, the NCP leadership has strongly decided to take up the issue of legalising dhirios in the State of Goa with the Party National leadership headed by Supremo Sharad Pawar to explore the possibility of enacting a Law to make the bull fights legal.
The party lone MLA Churchill Alemao has also given an assurance that he would table a resolution in the ensuing session of the Goa Legislative Assembly to legalise dhirios.
In fact, the NCP observer Verma said that if Jallikattu can be held in the southern state of Tamil Nadu legally, dhirios too should be permitted to take place legally in Goa.
President of the All Goa Bull Owners Association Simon Caido made a strong case for the legalisation of the banned dhirios. He pointed out that the dhirios provide employment for thousands of people in the State. “The farmers are suffering silently as there is no one to raise the issue in the Assembly or Parliament. The poor and destitute farmers have no entertainment except the dhirios, bull butting games, to release their stress and fatigue of the harvest season,” Caido added.
He told the NCP leaders that the farming community and the lovers of dhirios will even remain indebted to the political party if dhirios are recognised as a legal sport like Jallikattu by amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
“Unlike Jallikattu in South India, the Goan dhirios (bull butting games) do not endanger human beings, but is a wrestling match between two bulls of equal strength trying to butt each other from the ring,” he added.
The Benaulim MLA assured the bull owners that he would leave no stone unturned in its efforts to get the bull fights legalised. In fact, Alemao requested the party observer, Narendra Verma to take up the matter with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and national general secretary, Praful Patel to raise the issue in Parliament and give relief to the bull owners and dhirio lovers of Goa.
