‘Note ban’ dampens betting on cockfights

The demonetisation of big notes has had a salubrious effect on controversial cockfights in coastal Andhra, as betting amounts have significantly gone down during Sankranti that was on Saturday. The cops have heaved a sigh of relief as the number of persons who wagered on the trained roosters has come down from thousands to hundreds and the amounts too from crores of rupees to a few lakhs.

The near ambiguous ruling of the Supreme Court, which refused to pass any orders on cockfights on Friday, as animal rights activists knocked on its door  as a last ditch effort, came in handy for the cops to play neutral to the sport.

The cockfights are in full swing in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh since Thursday and are expected to last till Monday as people thronged here from far off places. Thanks to the shortage of cash in hand, the villagers had to contend with lower amounts on betting—sometimes not crossing a few thousand rupees, unlike in the past when the amounts touched Rs 1 to 2 lakh. “Where is the money to bet on roosters? We are just symbolically betting smaller amounts this time,” said J.C. Babu, an avid cockfights organiser from Kaikalur, on phone.

Taking a cue from the apex court’s reluctance to ban the sport, two TDP MPs—Maganti Babu (Elur) and J.C. Diwakar Reddy (Anantapur)—have openly inaugurated a cockfight in West Godavari district Friday evening. So have several political leaders  but the cops have taken steps to ensure that the cocks are fitted with knives.