Despite repeated warnings, poaching and rituals during Dasara have endangered Telangana’s State bird, the Palapitta, as hundreds were caged or tied for display. NGOs rescued a few, but enforcement remains weak even as the species faces alarming population decline.

Sangareddy: Lack of effective effort from the forest department and the widespread belief that watching a Palapitta (Indian Roller) brings good luck has placed the beautiful bird in greater peril during Dasara, even as its population is already in alarming decline.

Despite repeated warnings, poachers kept the birds in cages at temples across the State where Jammi rituals were held. Hundreds of devotees posed for photographs with the birds, many of which were tied with ropes or confined in cages. Even residents of Tellapur, i

See Full Page