More than half-a-dozen venues have been readied for the traditional cockfights scheduled to be organised during the Sankranti festival in this village in East Godavari district. The habitation, surrounded by thick coconut groves, has been spruced up with liquor outlets and biryani stalls to add value to the venues. Punters are seen busy welcoming VVIPs from various parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, apart from visitors from the neighbouring Kanataka.
With the sport raking up a row, on which the Supreme Court has ordered a status quo, a few constables were posted at the road leading to the cockfight venues at Godilanka, Godi, I. Bhimavaram, Yedurlanka village in I. Polavaram mandal, Vedireswaram, Podagatlapalli in Ravulapalem mandal, Kothapeta, Razole, Sakhinetipalli mandals. But, given the increasing craze for betting on the sport, the stakes are expected to reach up to Rs. 200 to Rs. 250 crore this year, when compared to last year’s Rs. 150 crore.
Throwing caution to the winds , brand new cars with tinted glasses crisscrossed Konaseema villages on Sunday afternoon, carrying a host of political leaders and elected representatives – from sarpanches, to Mandal and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency members and MLAs.
Cutting across party lines and caste and region, friends and relatives of Ministers, cricketers, former MLAs and Opposition leaders hailing from Telangana have been invited for the sport, it is learnt. “Through cockfights, we net between Rs. 2 crore and Rs. 3 crore a day and liquor sales between Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 2 lakh a day,” said Bulliraju, a punter from Vedireswaram.
“We have sent our teams to arrest gamblers. We are doing our best,” said East Godavari SP Ravi Prakash and his Rajahmundry Urban counterpart S. Harikrishna.
