Sankranti cockfights popular in Andhra Pradesh despite Covid

By Sharon Thambala Seesali (Andhra Pradesh), Jan 13 : Hundreds of people gathered at Seesali village in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district on Wednesday afternoon to engage in cockfights and place bets worth crores of rupees as part of Sankranti celebrations.
Sankranti just started with Bhogi festivities on Wednesday, wherein people pile up old wood and burn it to symbolically ring out the old and invite the new in the wee hours.
Seesali is a small Godavari village, 10 km away from Bhimavaram by the JP Road, where some acres of flattened paddy fields host the bloody sport every year without fail, behind a defunct prawn packaging and exporting company.
Manthena Ramaraju, local MLA and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader representing the Undi constituency was seen to be busy at the event. He entered the ring many times.
As the specially bred cocks fight it out with sharp knives tied to their feet, Ramaraju was also seen enjoying the show from a vantage point, wearing dark sunglasses on the first day of cockfights in this village.
Other local big shots who attended the cockfights include G. V. Narasimha Raju, brother of former Narasapuram MP Ganga Raju, newly appointed YSRCP Undi constituency in charge Ramaraju and others.