Mangaluru: The Kambala Event Calendar for the 2018-19 has been released by the District Kambala Samiti of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada (DK) and Kasaragod districts on Friday November 16th.

The Kambala season will begin with the first event being held at Kakyapadavu in Bantwal on November 24th followed by another major event in Moodbidri on December 1st.

According to the calendar released by the samithi, Kambala events will be held at over 50 places in coastal districts of Karnataka and Kasaragod in Kerala till March, major day and night events will be held at 18 places.

The Kambala season of 2018-19 will conclude with an event to be held on Soorya-Chandra tracks of Thalappady on March 23rd.

The Samiti President PR Shetty spoke on the event to be held at Pilikula and said, “The district administration is keen on holding Kambala at Pilikula Nisargadhama. However, the Kambala tracks there are yet to be cleared for the event. It may take some time to prepare the tracks. Hence, we may change the schedule depending on the preparations,” he said. The Kambala event is scheduled to be held in front of the Guthu Mane of Pilikula Nisargadhama on December 22.

In relation to the legal issues, Mr Shetty informed that there is no legal hurdle to hold Kambala since it has got legal tag with the government passing the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2017.

“We will hold Kambala events adhering strictly to rules ensuring zero torture to animals. We will also restrict the event for 24 hours strictly. A meeting in this regard will be held in Miyar near Karkala on November 21. All Kambala buffalo owners, jockeys and other stakeholders will be invited for the meeting which will discuss in detail about rules pertaining to the event,” he added.