Thousands march with buffaloes to protest ban on Kambala

Thousands of farmers and villagers from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod districts, along with 187 pairs of buffaloes, staged a protest here on Saturday opposing the Supreme Court order on banning Kambala (buffalo race), a popular folk sport of the coastal districts.

As the protesters and buffaloes took to the streets in a more than two-km procession, the traffic came to a grinding halt in the City.

Though initially it was planned to take the buffaloes to deputy commissioner’s office premises, later the protesters took only a pair of buffaloes as a symbolic protest and diverted the rest to Nehru Maidan.

Addressing the protesters, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod District Kambala Samithi president Bhasker S Kotian said there was a huge difference between Tamil Nadu’s ‘Jallikattu’ and Kambala.

‘Religious tradition’

“Kambala is not only an entertaining event, but has a historic and religious tradition behind it,” he said and added that it has been already proved that it is possible to organise Kambala without whipping the buffaloes.

“The Animal Welfare Board has been showing the old clippings to prove its point. It should take into consideration the recent developments made in Kambala sport,” he said.
District Kambala Committee Convenor K Gunapal Kadamba appealed the people’s representatives as well as State government to take up the cause of Kambala.

He also said that more than 5,000 people including 250 runners were dependent on Kambala for their livelihood.

Almost all the owners of buffaloes had brought cattle food for buffaloes and many were seen feeding buffaloes along the procession route.

On the other hand, a large number of people too arrived just to see the buffalo procession on the streets of Mangaluru.

At the end, the organisers submitted a memorandum to the Governor through the deputy commissioner.