Mangaluru: Expressing displeasure, Minister of Environment, Forests and Ecology, B. Ramanath Rai said the ban on ‘Kambala’ (buffalo slush track race) will affect the folk games of the region.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Rai said the state government will write to the Animal Welfare Board of India explaining the differences between Kambala and Jallikattu which was banned as per the Supreme court’s order given on May 5.
Though he lamented that the ban on Kambala was taking political tones, he said the state government had little to do with the prohibition of the rural sport that is played in South coastal Karnataka. “AWBI comes under the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. It is suspicious that the orders are being passed before the Kambala season, when the SC order had come in May itself,” he said.
The minister pointed out that the Supreme Court order did not mention on the ban of ‘kambala’. “There is no cruelty involved in the conduct of Kambala, which is a coastal tradition. Animals are not subjected to any cruelty during Kambala. Kambala should be allowed,” Rai said.
At the press conference MLC Ivan Dsouza and others were also present.
