CUTTACK, May 26: A bid to save a mere Rs 1.25 lakh annually for the Orissa police department may soon render jobless over 800 pigeons of the department's unique pigeon service which, for over half a century, has tirelessly kept vital communication links operational in the State during adverse conditions.

Officials in the police department want the government aid granted for upkeep of these message-carriers to be utilised elsewhere in the resource-crunch hit department.

``Since modern telecommunication equipment was installed in almost all police vehicles, the winged service is no longer an attraction,'' says Inspector-General of Orissa Police (Technical) P K Senapati. However, Senapati is yet to officially recommend the decommissioning of the winged service.

``No formal proposal has been sent to the Government yet for closure of the pigeon service but it could be done if the authorities in the districts concerned, to whom letters were sent about how they are utilising the winged courier service, recommend the same,'' he said.

The pigeon service came into operation in 1946 when the Orissa police department, due to a lack of communication facilities, purchased a few trained carriers from the Army at the end of the Second World War. The service soon won accolades from then Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who, on a visit to Sambalpur to inaugurate the Hirakud dam in 1948, found the service quite useful.

Nehru's message on April 13, 1948 to the state that ``the arrangements for the public meeting should not be such as to separate the speaker too much from the audience'', reached Cuttack in less than five-and-a-half hours.

It however took Nehru six hours to reach the city on the same day by air and road. He was surprised when told that his message brought by a pigeon had reached before he reached Cuttack. But now, with the advent of modern technology, the pigeon service has become a relic of the past.

``The pigeon service made practical sense earlier as there was no advanced technology. But now all police stations and jeeps in the state are fitted with modern wireless service,'' Senapati said. However, he added that the proposal to disband the service has to ``go through many stages before any decision is taken''.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.