Kambala bill sent to President for assent

A Bill passed recently by Karnataka Assembly to legalise traditional  buffalo race "Kambala" and bullock cart races has been sent to the President for his assent, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra said today.

"The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka  Amendment) Bill, 2017 has been approved by the Governor. We  have now sent it to President of India," Jayachandra told reporters here after a cabinet meeting.


The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, a central act, was  amended in its application to Karnataka by the bill which was passed by the legislature earlier this month.

The bill was tabled after the clamour for Kambala grew, spurred by the success of pro-jallikattu (taming of bull) stir in Tamil Nadu.    The bullock cart races are held in parts of North  Karnataka and Shivamogga and Kambala in the coastal districts  of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada.

A Karnataka High Court division bench, headed by Chief  Justice S K Mukherjee, had in November last year stayed  holding of Kambala on a petition by the People for Ethical  Treatment of Animals (PETA) challenging it in view of orders  passed by the Supreme Court on jallikattu.

On January 30 last, the High Court had said it would  await the Supreme Court verdict on jallikattu case. Kambala Committees and various Kannada outfits had  recently held protests against the ban and demanded it be  allowed. Jayachandra also said the Karnataka Budget will be presented on March 15. "What we have decided is that the session will begin on March 15 and will go on till March 28, it has to get approved by the Governor," he said.

Also among the decisions taken by the Cabinet today  included revision of the tender estimates to the project to  widen and develop the road between Windsor Manor Bridge to  Hebbal Bridge under Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (city corporation) limits at a cost of Rs 27,52,03,156 in Bengaluru.