Mandi Ahmedgarh- Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today formally announced the resumption of bullock cart races in village Mehma Singh of Ludhiana district. Bullock cart races, considered the hallmark of rural sports, have been closed for more than a decade. According to the announcement, these sports will resume only after the Punjab Animal and Cruelty Prevention (Punjab Amendment) Act is approved by the President.
The Chief Minister said in his speech that after getting the approval of the Governor of Punjab, this Act has been sent to the President for approval. After getting the approval from the President, all animal sports will be restored.
The stadium where this announcement was made is a short distance from the famous Qila Raipur Sports Stadium for rural sports, where these games were started by Bakshis Singh Grewal Baba Bakshi 92 years ago in 1933. Mann claimed that the rural society has a very close relationship with bullocks, horses, dogs and birds (pigeons). The residents of Punjab can never think of leaving their domestic animals to the mercy of nature after getting work done.
Mann said that agriculture is no longer dependent on bulls and horses are no longer used in wars as before, so animal sports are the only means through which the relationship between humans and animals can remain as before. On this occasion, Cabinet Ministers Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Harbhajan Singh Mann, Hardeep Singh Mundian and MLAs Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra, Jagjivan Singh Sangowal and Mohammad Jamil ur Rehman also addressed. During this, the office bearers and activists of the organizations also honored the Chief Minister.