KARIMNAGAR: Karimnagar RTC officials are preparing to do something they probably had never dreamt of doing when they joined duty — auction a rooster. This situation came to pass when a passenger, travelling with the rooster, abandoned the bird at the Karimnagar bus station after spotting RTC security carrying out a routine check.
It is against RTC rules to transport live animals, even if it is a pet, on a bus. This might be the reason for the owner of the rooster abandoning his prized possession, RTC officials believe. They also believe that the rooster was being taken to a cockfight, a Sankranti tradition across both the Telugu states.
The manager of Karimnagar bus depot-2, V Mallaiah, told reporters on Thursday that the rooster was discovered concealed in a bag on January 9 during a routine check of the Warangal to Vemulawada Express. Passengers noticed the unusual cargo and alerted the bus station controller. Later, the RTC officials confiscated the rooster, and have been providing it with food and water and have lodged it in a cage. After waiting for three days, the RTC depot manager said that he did not expect the owner of the bird to come forward to claim it.
The authorities, after consulting higher officials, have now decided to conduct an auction and sell the hapless bird. The auction is set to take place on Friday, with all necessary arrangements being made at the Karimnagar bus station. The RTC depot manager said that if anyone came forward to claim ownership, he or she would be required to pay a fine for violating the rules.
Meanwhile, opinion regarding the purpose of the rooster remained divided — some citizens speculated that it was intended for a cockfight while others gave the owner the benefit of the doubt and suggested that it might have been meant for sacrificial purposes at the Goddess Baddi Pochamma temple in Vemulawada.