Bull falls into dry farm well, rescued in Ambur

The animal ran amok from the bull race track in the neighbourhood

After over two hours of struggle, a three-year-old bull was rescued by firefighters from a dry, unused farm well on an open plot in Ambur town near Tirupattur after the animal ran amok from the bull race track in the neighbourhood on Saturday.   Officials at the Ambur division of Tamil Nadu Fire Services and Rescue (TNFS&R) Department said that it was around 9.15 a.m. on Saturday, they got an emergency call. Along with the Ambur taluk police, a eight-member fire fighters team rushed to the dry farm well on a 56-acre-open plot in Sanrorkuppam on the outskirts of Ambur town. The bull had got caught on the tree inside the dry farm well, which was around 15 feet deep, making it difficult for the firemen to rescue the animal. “Except for some rashes, the bull did not sustain any major injuries. We safely rescued the animal, which seems to be dehydrated,” M. Meganathan, Station Fire Officer, Ambur town, told The Hindu. The bull is one of the 300 participants in the bull race that was held in Ambur on Saturday. Farmers from Vellore, Arcot, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Alangayam, Anaicut, Katpadi, Chittor and Hosur had brought their bulls to the race being held after two years due to the pandemic.   The bull ran at a high speed on the narrow sandy track to escape from the crowd. The animal ran around 1.5 km away from the track and fell into the dry unused farm well, which didn’t have any guardrails and was covered by bushes and greenery, the police said.   Villagers said that this was not the first time a bull fell into a farm well during the race. Despite many such tragedies in the past, they said that the district administration had not taken any precautionary measures for conducting the annual event. A few years ago, a bull fell into a ground-level open well, as it was unable to slow down after the run. Though the bull was rescued by the fire fighters, the animal had succumbed to injuries.