In a bizarre incident that took place in Tamil Nadu, a bus conductor employed with the state's transport corporation was issued a memorandum for allowing a pigeon that was sitting on the window of the bus to travel without a ticket.
Also read: 82-year-old woman commits suicide after cat kills her pet parrot
The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus connecting Harur town and Ellavadi — a small remote tribal village — was plying through a forest area with more than 80 passengers on Thursday. The bird was reportedly accompanying a drunk man seated near the window.
TNSTC inspectors stopped the bus to check tickets when it reached the outskirts of Harur. The drunk passenger at this point caught hold of the pigeon and was "having a conversation" with it, according to a Times of India report.
The inspector on seeing the bird asked the conductor whether a ticket had been bought for the bird. The inspector also told the conductor that according to a rule, all animals and birds travelling in the bus would need to be ticketed
The inspector then issued the bus conductor a memo despite being told repeatedly that the drunk man was not carrying the pigeon when he had boarded the bus.
However, an official said a conductor is required by the rules to collect one-fourth of the full fare only when a passenger is carrying more than 30 pigeons at a time.
"The rules don't mention charging passengers for transporting one pigeon," said the official.
A senior TNSTC official in the Salem division said they would wait till Monday to see the memo the inspector submits and then take an action.
"Inspectors submit memos on Mondays. We will take appropriate action if any rule was broken," the official was quoted as saying by ToI.
