Kadaknath chickens tie knot in Dantewada

Bhopal: It was a unique marriage for a novel cause. Marriage of two “black beauties”, Kadaknath hens, held in a nondescript village on the outskirt of district headquarters town of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada on Saturday became a high-profile event with top officials of local administration and eminent citizens attending the occasion to “bless” the newlywed fowl couple.

The father of “groom” Kalia, male Kadaknath chicken, Lardu Nag, who is also president of Dantewada district poultry association, hosted the “unique” marriage on behalf of the tribal farmers engaged in breeding the rare black fowl to celebrate the successful conservation of the female Kadaknath species which was on the brink of extinction in the region.

“We have decided to hold marriage of a Kadaknath couple to celebrate the revival of female population of the fowl species which was facing extinction. This is good news for tribal poultry farmers of Dantewada who are growing Kadaknath to eke out a living,” Mr Nag said.

Kadaknath, a black coloured fowl, is popular for its taste and low cholesterol as well as high protein contents. “Around 250 wedding cards were distributed to the guests who included Dantewada district collector Sourav Kumar, local agriculture officers and other dignitaries of Dantewada,” official sources said.

Kadaknath farming introduced in Dantewada district in January this year to improve the economic condition of tribals in rural areas has been found to be generating interest among the local adivasis particularly the women.

The state has launched a scheme providing 90 percent subsidy to the Kadaknath growers in the region. Dantewada district had 76 individual entrepreneurs raising 76,000 birds. A target has been set to increase the growth of the fowl to 1.5 lakh by end of the year.