Cockfights see huge money change hands in AP; lavish setups in place

Vijayawada: High-stakes cockfights, which turn blood sports during the Sankranti festivities, this year turned into a costly affair with corporate style arrangement across Andhra Pradesh with revellers from both the Telugu States cheering loudly as the organisers held the infamous game with meticulous planning.

Reports emanating from various venue showed that the participants had indulged in gambling and heavy betting at various places mainly in the Godavari districts, Krishna and Guntur and parts of Prakasam. The report stated that amounts running into crores of rupees changed hands. The organisers made elaborate arrangements by deploying bouncers with adequate parking, display on huge screens, announcements through cordless mikes and special dance and music programmes for entertainment by engaging DJs and event management firms.

The betting was stated to be very high in the Konaseema region, which alone is believed to have accounted for Rs3,000 crore to Rs4,000 crore out of an estimated business of Rs10,000 crore during the current festive period. Cockfights are called 'Pandem Kodi' in local parlance which attracts families including several NRIs to their native places to relax with their near and dear. In some places, elected representatives and leaders from all political parties took part in the cockfights and shouted loudly to cheer one of the participants in the banned game. At Tadepalligudem, the highest betting for a single fight had crossed Rs1 crore. Roosters, which were groomed by some enterprising entrepreneurs by feeding them protein rich food like dry fruits, were bought at a higher price due to belief that those strong can perform better on the battleground.

Special arrangements were made to serve liquor and veg and non-veg food at the venues. Transactions were made by accepting cash, UPI payments and at some places by accepting foreign currencies. A few from the cinema industry had also visited their native places to take part in the cockfights.

Though police deployed drone cameras at various places, the organisers conducted the cockfights with impunity with the blessings of several political leaders. A few arrests were made with seizure of roosters, the knife used in the fights and cash.