Sion resident declares ₹20,000 reward for missing pet parrot

MUMBAI: A pamphlet of a missing pet parrot is doing rounds in areas of Pratisha Nagar and other residential areas in Sion East, with a reward of ₹20,000 to whoever brings the four-year-old parrot back.

The parrot, named ‘Papuya’ belonging to a 32-year-old Sion resident, was gifted to him by his friend before the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Amit Bagade, owner, the parrot went missing on December 31 from his residence in Pratiksha Nagar, Sion.

In the afternoon, Bagade, who works for a private firm in Andheri, was playing with the parrot when it suddenly flew out of the window and never returned. Bagade said he waited for some time, hoping the parrot would have a round in the open air and eventually return to them, but it did not.

The parrot had soon become a part of the Bagade family, they never kept it in a cage or any enclosure. As it grew with the family of three – Bagade, his mother, and his sister, the bird even learnt to identify the family members by their names.

Bagade said, they used to feed the pet whatever they ate, and they were never required to cage the bird, which moved freely in their house, as it never tried to fly out of the house.

For the next two days, Bagade and his family continuously searched for the bird near their house but did not find it.

Bagade later got some pamphlets printed and circulated the same in Pratisha Nagar and other residential areas in Sion East, declaring a reward of ₹20,000 to whoever helps him get back the parrot.

Bagade, before going to his office, searches for the pet parrot every day and after returning home in the evening too. “I hope every day that I will receive a call saying they have found my parrot,” said Bagade.

So far, eight people have contacted him after reading the pamphlets, enquiring as to how the parrot looks or how it can be identified. He said the parrot looked like any other parrot, but he calls his pet name – Pappu and the names of his mother and sister immediately upon seeing them.