RAJAHMUNDRY: Rather than comply with the ban imposed by the Hyderabad High Court , organisers of cock fights in Coastal Andhra are opting to clandestinely carry on with the sport and want to deploy drones in order to dodge cops this Sankranti Crores of rupees ex change hands in betting, particularly in East and West Godavari districts where the killer sport is most popular. Even as the state government and police are taking steps to ensure that the game does not take place this Sankranti, organisers of the sport and betters are now planning to take the help of drone cameras to track the movement of cops who would be on the prowl in the run up to the festival.Sources close to the players in the game said the cameras would be deployed two kilometres away from the arena. On condition of anonymity, one of the organisers said cock fighting will take place this year as well, the HC ban notwithstanding. One organiser in Bhimavaram area has already struck a deal with a drone camera operator for ` 50,000 per camera per day.In all, he is planning to deploy three drone cameras every day.In the run up to the cock fights, lodges in Bhimava fights, lodges in Bhimavaram, Palakollu and Narsapuram in West Godavari district and Rajahmundry, Amalapuram, Kakinada and other major towns in East Godavari have been booked by punters from various parts of AP and Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and other places. "In Bhimavaram alone, 1,000 rooms of various hotels and lodges are already booked for Sankranti despite the owners charging them rent five times more than the usual," said G Trinath, a lorry owner in Bhimavaram."We may not witness the same zeal this year as there was last year due to demonetization and there could be 50 per cent drop in the betting money. But the cock fights will go on," said K Krishna Murthy, a punter from the Rajole area. According to him, around 500 high-quality breed roosters are ready for the big arenas and will be smuggled in just before Sankranti for the cock fights to happen.

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