Sankranti bets push families into debts

While villages are witnessing festive cheer during Sankranti, illegal gambling activities like cockfights and card games are ruining the lives of many families. What should be a time of celebration is being turned into a money-making business by organizers, while ordinary people lose their hard earned savings and sink deeper into debt.

During the three day festival period, large-scale gambling has left several families financially shattered. Many people, once drawn into gambling, fail to withdraw and end up losing lakhs of rupees. Rising debts, sale of assets, and mounting financial pressure are triggering serious family disputes, affecting even salaried employees and middle-class households.

As bloodied roosters collapse in the arena, crores of rupees exchange hands within moments. The losers fall into debt traps, while winners indulge in extravagant spending. In the end, only the organizers profit, while both winners and losers emerge as victims of this exploitative system, social observers note.