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‘Being fed pizza-burger, causing deaths’: Pigeons under fire in Mumbai, issue reaches Maharashtra Legislative Council
MLCs discuss public health impact of the ‘rats of the sky’; govt directs the Mumbai civic body to eliminate unauthorised feeding sites
Mumbai's pigeons landed in the legislative council of Maharashtra —figuratively, of course — as members debated how to deal with 'kabootar khanas' and feeding points for the birds, widely dubbed now as “rats of the avian world” for being disease carriers.
Points made ranged from the macabre to the bizarre.
One member spoke of a spot where pigeons were “being fed pizza and burger”; another spoke of a death in her family due to a lung disease linked with pigeons. The state government has thus directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take strict action against unauthorised kabootar khanas across the city, HT has reported.
The issue came up on council floor on Thursday when Shiv Sena (UBT) member Manisha Kayande said illegal kabootar khanas across Mumbai had converted footpaths into bird shelters.
Promising action, urban development minister Uday Samant spoke about a case wherein “BMC officials even found pigeons being fed pizza and burgers”.
The BJP’s Chitra Wagh cited a personal tragedy: “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."
“The Indian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has documented how pigeon excreta can infiltrate the respiratory system and cause chronic ailments,” Manisha Kayande said.
'Disease-carrying pests'
The issue is not limited to Mumbai, but has turned into a wider debate about urbanisation and the definition of some species as “pests”, particularly pigeons that have had a role as messengers across human history.
The population of pigeons in India has, however, increased by more than 150%, the highest percentage increase of all the birds whose populations went up, said the 2023 State of India’s Birds report cited by Scroll.
The report says that the pigeon has “successfully adapted to live in human habitation to nest on human structures, and to feed on whatever humans provide”. Besides lung issues, pigeon droppings cause fungal infections that can reach the brain, research has shown.
