Visakhapatnam: The courts have banned the sport and animal lovers cry foul every Sankranti. But, much before Sankranti (Peda Panduga), North Andhra region has already geared up for cock-fights and people have started placing bets on the fighting roosters. Thanks to the involvement of few politicians, the police turn away and the organisers have even made arrangements to organise the sport.
Normally in many parts of Andhra Pradesh cockfights mark the beginning of Sankranti whereas, in North Andhra (Vizag, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam) a week before New Year celebrations, the groundwork for cockfighting and betting commences. K. Srinivas (name changed on request) one of the organisers in Vizag said that cockfighting is a traditional sport associated with Dasara and Sankranti.
But, we are planning to start the event a couple of days before New Year and continue it for a month. Everyone including software professionals participated in the sport last year and a lot of cash got exchanged among people due to betting, he added. Despite court and police instructions and warnings, few punters have been procuring roosters from parts of the Andhra and neighbouring Odisha. A normal sized rooster costs in the range of Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000 and the price of a good variety rooster costs upwards of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000.
There are several varieties of roosters, but, Pacchakaki and Kakinemali cost the highest as they are winning breeds. The price of the roosters are based purely on the variety of the bird says N.V. Raju, who has been participating in the sport. Demonetisation did not dampen their spirits either, as Vizag witnessed cockfights in December 2016 and January 2017. Some TD leaders had inaugurated the cockfights near Arilova, Mudasarlova, Bheemili, Tagarapuvalasa, Anandapuram, Venkojipalem and few more areas in Vizag in 2016.
Like other areas in Vizag, betting on this sport touched an all-time high when the value of the money exchanged touched Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh in a single cockfight last Sankranti. If all goes as planned, North Andhra will witness more cockfights in the year-end when compared to last year. “Our teams have swung into action to burst the cockfights and nab the punters and roosters. The organisers are also finding new places to evade the police,” said ACP (Task Force) I. Chittibabu.
