Bhubaneswar: At a time when e-mail and mobile phones have brought a seemingly irreversible change in the ways humans communicate, Odisha police has been able to keep date with pigeon post and continues to train domestic pigeons as messengers.
Odisha Police Pigeon Service, which is considered as the oldest and probably the only active official pigeon service in the world, continues to keep the tradition of this man-bird camaraderie alive.
On occasion of Maha Bishuba Sankranti today, a pigeon flight service ceremony was organised jointly by Odisha Police and the Bhubaneswar chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
As many as 23 homing pigeons carrying missives (Pigeongram) with the message of eye donation completed their flight covering nearly 25 kms from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack on the occasion.
Set up in 1946, Odisha Police Pigeon Service has consistently rendered valuable service during emergencies including the devastating 1999 Super Cyclone when the messenger pigeons proved effective in sending messages after a communication blackout following the storm.
This pigeon mail services is also displayed during the Independence Day and Republic Day parades and also during major events of the state police.
Sources said the pigeons used in the service belong to the species which were widely used for spying and delivering messages during the Second World War.
Pradeep Kumar Mishra, Additional SP, Communications, Odisha Police said, "These pigeons are imparted special training. Before commencing a flight, these birds are generally fed and also made to drink potash water so that they can fly non-stop to their destination and do not stop anywhere else to take food."
Besides, Cuttack, pigeon training centres are also present in Chhatrapur, Kendrapara, Sambalpur and Dhenkanal.