43 Rose-Ringed Parakeets recovered from fair

The officers of the West Bengal Forest Department recovered 43 birds from a village fair at East Midnapore's Mahishadal on Tuesday night.

The bird seller managed to escape from the spot after they saw forest officers and police at his stall at the fair.

The officers said these birds were Rose-Ringed Parakeet, selling and buying of which is not permitted in Bengal. Later, the officers set these birds free in the open sky.

Rose-Ringed Parakeet is a popular pet which are seen in many places in India. This green-coloured bird prefers to eat seeds, nuts, fruits, and berries.

"We raided the village fair after being informed by a villager that a man was selling parakeet of Rs 300 to Rs 500. But our officers had to return empty hands as the man had fled from fair. He had probably got the news of police raid and escaped from there. On Tuesday night, the officers again conducted a raid in the fair and this time, they only got hold of some cages in which birds were kept. The bird seller again managed to escape from there," said a police source.

The fair was organised by a rural community on the eve of Ratha Yatra. The bird seller, who is also a local villager, sold at least 10 to 15 birds before forest officers and the police raided the fair. The investigators suspect that there were two-three bird sellers who initially started selling birds in the fair. But all of them had fled after getting the news of a police raid.

"This is an old fair which is organised by the village community every year.

Villagers informed that the birds were sold in this fair in earlier years too. But it is the first time, that the Forest department and police raided the fair," a source added.