BHUBANESWAR: In a rare show of man-animal bond, homing pigeons trained by humans continue to be as accurate as they were over seven decades back in route mapping. This was proved by Odisha Police’s Pigeons’ Service here on Saturday when its birds flew back to their home in Cuttack with a message.In a bid to mark the State’s heritage and promote its preservation, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), Bhubaneswar Chapter organised ‘Heritage Pigeon Flight’. For the event, 24 pigeons of Odisha Police were brought in two crates from Odisha Police headquarters in Cuttack to Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) ground here.
Messages on heritage conservation and preservation were written on a paper which were rolled up and inserted into plastic capsules which were attached to the legs of the pigeons.After the birds were released from the crates, they flew to their lofts near Odisha Police headquarters in Cuttack along with the messages. The missive titled ‘pigeonogram’ also mentioned about the Odia New Year (Maha Vishuva Sankranti). The other messages in the missive included preserving the past for the future, no legacy is as rich as the heritage and so much of our future lies in preserving our past.
Intach’s State convenor Amiya Bhusan Tripathy commended Odisha Police for taking care of the homing pigeons. Intach’s Bhubaneswar chapter convenor SKB Narayan was also present.The Intach’s member Anil Dhir pitched for highlighting the pigeon service and dubbed the Belgian-bred birds as a unique aspect of Odisha’s heritage. “Apart from Odisha, the pigeon service is not officially available in any other part of the world,” he said.
Odisha Police’s homing pigeons date back to 1946 when India was under the British rule. The birds are homer species found in Belgium. These birds are different from traditional pigeons as they have larger beaks and wattles, round heads, thicker napes and red eyes.
In April, 1948, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru sent a message to the State’s officials in Cuttack from Sambalpur through pigeon service about the arrangements for a public meeting. The pigeons also played a pivotal role in sending messages across the State in 1999 when the entire communication network was ravaged by the Super Cyclone.
Though the pigeon service was abandoned in 2004, the Odisha Police continues to preserve the birds and train them as a mark of heritage preservation. The State Government’s audit department suggested closure of the homing pigeons building in 2007. But, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik insisted on keeping the winged creatures for ornamental purposes. The trained pigeons are showcased in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack during Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations.
There are about 95 police pigeons in Cuttack and about 50 pigeons at Angul Police Training School. Sub-Inspector rank officer Nihar Ranjan Biswal along with constables Ramesh Chandra Biswal and Parsuram Nanda has been assigned the job of training the birds and taking care of them for the last several years. “The birds only drink potassium water which we keep in water fountain. They are fed with wheat and maize. We also give them black salt for better digestion,” Biswal said.“It takes us 40 minutes to go from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack, but the trained pigeons reach their lofts in about 20 minutes by flying over Kathjodi river. The birds mark the spots to identify their routes and can fly as fast as 55 miles per hour,” Biswal said.