Mangaluru to see a buffalo march on the streets

MANGALURU: Instead of muddy fields, the asphalted streets of Mangaluru will host Kambala buffaloes this Saturday. Kambala committees from Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Kasaragod districts will walk 200 pairs of buffaloes on Mangaluru roads on Saturday to protest t he ban on buffalo races in Dakshina Kannada district. About 25,000 Kambala enthusiasts are expected to join the protesters at Ambedkar Circle. "We will submit a me morandum to the DC, urging him to revoke the ban. We will inform him of the changes brought to the sport to eliminate violence against animals," Kambala expert Gunapala Kadamba said. The organizers are planning to move court or ask the state and Union governments to move court against bringing Kambala under the ban. They are also planning to seek the assistance of animal husbandry department to build a strong case for Kambala. "It's a matter of preserving our culture as also ensuring the livelihood of over 5,000 persons solely depending on Kambala," said Bhaskar Kotian, an organizer. DK district administration banned Kam bala a week ago after the animal husbandry department wrote to the DC, directing him to implement the May 7 Supreme Court order. Department deputy director Thippe Swamy had said the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), Chennai, ha d sent an email to the DC. Despite the ban, Kadamba alleged that bull races are conducted in Haveri, and Kambala in Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district. On charges that Kambala animals are whipped to quicken their pace, he said: "We brought in reforms a decade ago. Now, the animals are whipped very rarely. But rights activists cite the old clips of buffaloes being whipped to make statements against the event". Ban or no ban, farmers continue to observe the traditional form of Kambala in a symbolic way by releasing the buffaloes onto the field. This practice also holds a religious significance in this part of the state. Karnataka high court seeks govt's stand  BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday asked the government to specify its stand on the recently ban imposed on Kambala in two coastal districts. Hearing a petition filed by Kambala committees of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts challenging the ban, justice S Abdul Nazeer issued notice to the deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district and the deputy director of the Animal welfare Board, Udupi. The petition will be heard next on December 2. The deputy director of Animal Welfare Board, Udupi, had issued an order on November 14, 2014 banning Kambala. Endorsing the ban on November 21, the DC declined permission to Ashok Kumar Rai, another petitioner, to conduct Kambala at Surathkal. Terming Kambala a traditional folk sport that provided much-needed entertainment to rural people in coastal Karnataka, the petitioners claimed that even the state government encouraged it in Pilikula Nisarga Dhama (an eco-education and tourism development project in Dakshina Kannada). "It is simple sport held under the guidance of local landlords and doesn't involve cruelty to animals. The animals are looked after well; some owners have even built swimming pools for these animals. Banning the sport would affect 4,000-5,000 workers dependent on it," the petitioners pointed out. The petitioners said authorities have totally misinterpreted the Supreme Court's order on Jallikattu (bull-chasing sport in Tamil Nadu) and mechanically applied the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, while banning Kambala here. -TOI