State orders crackdown on pigeon feeding spots, cites public health hazard

Maharashtra government orders BMC to act against illegal kabootar khanas in Mumbai due to health risks, as concerns over respiratory ailments grow.

MUMBAI: The state government has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take strict action against unauthorised kabootar khanas across the city, following concerns that these pigeon feeding zones pose serious health risks and encroach on public spaces.

State orders crackdown on pigeon feeding spots, cites public health hazard

The issue was raised in the legislative council on Thursday by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Manisha Kayande, who said illegal kabootar khanas had mushroomed across Mumbai, converting footpaths into pigeon shelters and causing respiratory ailments among residents.

“In Mahim, one such feeding spot was set up illegally on Lady Jamshedji Road. In Dadar West, there’s a kabootar khana right on a Grade II heritage structure. It’s illegal, and people living nearby have protested due to health issues,” Kayande said. She suggested the civic body instead develop a Miyawaki garden at the Dadar site.

Citing medical research, Kayande pointed out that pigeon droppings and feathers can trigger serious respiratory conditions. “The Indian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has documented how pigeon excreta can infiltrate the respiratory system and cause chronic ailments,” she said, questioning why Dadar’s assistant municipal commissioner Vinayak Vispute had not acted despite having cracked down on similar encroachments in Bandra during his previous posting.

He added that the Dadar kabootar khana had previously been removed for two years following protests, but resumed operations after a private trust took over the spot.

The BJP’s Chitra Wagh added a personal note to the debate, citing a tragedy in her own family. “My aunt, Sheetal Satanekar, who lived in Bhardawadi, Andheri West, died of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (lung disease) due to prolonged exposure to pigeons. Three of her close friends are still suffering from the same condition,” Wagh said.