Winged messengers: how first-class pigeons help police keep Indians safe

The Guardian ^ | 28 Mar 2023 | Neeta Lal

[DUMBGRUNT]

Since 1946, despite floods, cyclones and remote terrain, the birds have carried vital intelligence round Odisha state. Now the authorities want to clip their wings …

With social media and smartphones offering instant communications, the postcard and the telegram are virtually obsolete. But in India’s eastern state of Odisha, police are working hard to preserve an even older practice – carrier pigeons.

Used to carry messages between stations in remote regions and keep in touch with police units on the move, the police pigeons of Odisha also proved to be the only dependable method of communication during devastating floods in 1982 and a 1999 super-cyclone that caused widespread destruction in the coastal state. Indeed, the handlers say pigeon post helped save many lives.

Anil Dhir, from the Indian National Trust of Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach), works with police to run the service, which was launched in 1946. The area had no wireless or telephone links, so the state was given 200 Belgian homing pigeons by the army as a communications experiment.

Dhir claims that Odisha has “the only existing pigeon carrier service in the world, and a unique example of an ancient tradition being kept alive in modern times”.

Dhir says Belgian pigeons are chosen primarily for their ability to fly long distances (up to 24km or 15 miles) in just 15-25 minutes and their longevity – they live up to 20 years.

These birds can fly up to 500 miles at a stretch with a speed of 55kph, depending on the weather.

“The pigeons are very intelligent and recognise the handler’s voice, which makes their management easier. I know the birds individually and they also recognise us from our voices,” he adds.

[DUMBGRUNT]

Shutting down the pigeon service is the work of that Microsoft employee last seen in a massive tangle of phone lines; attempting to save his job.

Concealed in this photo.:

[Paladin2]

Are those lines of Windoz code?

[piasa]

One of the best things about carrier pigeons is that they will carry your communications discretely and unlike social media, will not censor users.