Kakinada: There is a growing demand for Kodi Kathi (serrated, sharp knives used for rooster fights) in the market, more so after it gained currency following a recent knife attack on YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy at Visakhapatnam airport.
The youth who attacked Mr Reddy was from Konaseema area of East Godavari, where rooster fights are organised on a large scale during Sankranti.
Though the knife has been around for ages, it became a hot topic for discussion after the attack on Mr Jagan.
Many jokes and satires, too, began circulating thereafter. Telugu Desam leaders, including Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his son and minister Mr N. Lokesh, even called the YSRC a Kodi Kathi party.
However, knife-sellers are being careful, selling them only to known customers. Sources said specialised carpenters make the weapons for rooster fight organisers, who specify the size they want to go with the bird.
Mostly, people from the Kshatriya community engage the carpenters to make the knives that go for '500-1,000 each.
When the roosters fight each other, with knives tied to their bodies, they try to escape injuries, but ultimately one bird falls down.
The West Godavari police seized 343 rooster knives from the makers and booked bind-over cases against the makers.
The West Godavari police said nearly 253 such knives were recovered from one maker at Jangareddygudem. The East Godavari police seized 118 knives.
