Pigeons flown in city with heritage motto

The Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) held a heritage flight of carrier pigeons of the Odisha Police Pigeon service from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack. The 50 pigeons that were flown from the OUAT grounds carried a missive with a message on heritage conservation and preservation.

Speaking on the occasion, former DGP and State convener of INTACH Amiya Bhusan Tripathy praised the Police Department for keeping the service alive and flying. He lauded the determination of the men who run India's only police pigeon service and have guaranteed its survival into the next millennium.

SP (Signal) BN Das said that Odisha was the only State in India to use carrier pigeons to communicate among police stations. He said that the pigeon service is still kept alive due to its rich and glorious tradition.

Anil Dhir from INTACH, an eminent philatelist, said that the unique aspect of Odishan heritage should be highlighted. He said that nowhere else in the world is such a service still in operation officially.

These Pigeongrams are cherished by collectors and philatelists all over the world. He said that maintaining the service is a living example of keeping tradition along with modernity. The heritage flight has generated a lot of interest in the collector’s community worldwide and that he is deluged with requests for the carried missives.

Notably, the Odisha Police Pigeon service, which is more than 70 years old, remains the only one of its kind in the world.