Chicken soup for loser’s soul: Rooster auction stalled after owner’s video appeal

HYDERABAD: In an interesting twist to the forgotten rooster, going under the hammer at 3 pm in Karimnagar-2 depot of the TSRTC, the owner of the bird Mahesh surfaced. He put out a video appeasing to TSRTC vice-chairman and Managing Director V C Sajjanar to stall the auction.

Ironically, the officials decided to hand over the well-groomed bird to animal welfare centre. How does this amount to meting out justice to the owner is again a question. Karimnagar-2 depot manager Mallaiah said that if nobody claimed the ownership of lost property within 24 hours with substantive proof, it’s mandatory for the RTC to auction the same with the instructions of higher officials again within 24 hours. He said that since nobody had turned up till Thursday, the RTC officials decided to auction the bird.

Watching the news spread though different media platforms including YouTube, owner of the bird, Vallapu Mahesh, who works as a private contractor organising civil works at Rudrangi village in Rajanna-Sircilla district, put out a video appealing to RTC officials and Mr Sajjanar hand over the bird back to him.

Also Read: ‘Chicken Friday’: TSRTC Karminagar-2 depot to auction rooster on Jan.12

Though initially the officials refused to stall the auction of the rooster, finally decided to hand it over to animal welfare centre.

Mahesh belongs to Kavali in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh and works in Rajanna Sircilla district.

It maybe recalled that the TSRTC decided to auction the well-groomed rooster on Friday.

A passenger from Warangal to Vemulawada forgot a rooster he was carrying in the bus and alighted without noticing the same at Karimnagar bus station on Tuesday, January 9. Mahesh could not be identified until the auction was notified.

The co-passengers of the bus noticed a bag that belonged to a passenger and discovered that its owner had alighted the bus already. They drew the attention of the RTC Controller to the bag that was left out.

The controller and his staff thought through on what to do with the bag.

It was indeed fun.

As they opened it, to their utter surprise, they found a well-groomed rooster packed in it.

Soon they took it to the Karimnagar-2 bus depot and began protecting it in a specially made exclusive pen.

Even after three days, nobody has turned up to claim the rooster.

Therefore, they decided to auction the bird. Accordingly, the depot manager had a handwritten notice affixed at the depot announcing that the rooster meant for betting in cockfights would be put on open action at 3 pm on January 12 at Karimnagar-2 depot.

The bird tended by the staff would go under the hammer on Friday.