Distressed by pigeon mayhem, residents demand closure of Khar kabutarkhana

There seems no end in sight to the battle being fought by Khar residents against the kabutarkhana in the Khar (West) market. Located in the middle of the road, it has been a cause of great public inconvenience and a potential source of diseases and epidemics for locals.

Residents and shopkeepers say the nuisance has been increasing with each passing day and that their fight to have it removed hasn't yielded the desired result.

Mehernosh Irani (53), owner of Prince of Wales bakery situated near the kabutarkhana, said, "It's been a nightmare since it was constructed around 17 years back. Government had taken the land to construct wide roads for buses to ply and take hassle-free turns with the depot located nearby. Instead they built a kabutarkhana that has only added to the residents' woes. I got asthma only because of the pigeons."

The Khar Residents Association (KRA) has been fighting for its closure for the past many weeks and written about it to the municipal commissioner, BJP MP Poonam Mahajan and BJP MLA Ashish Shelar.

"According to the records, the kabutarkhana was constructed in 1998-99 and, thus, has no historical heritage, or religious or pilgrimage site status. Moreover, it is located in the middle of the busy market with no proper upkeep — a perpetual unhygienic nightmare," said Mona Irani (65) of KRA.

Recently, a beautification programme was conducted in the area when the kabutarkhana was cleaned, but, within two days, it returned to its earlier filthy state. "The stench of the pigeon droppings is so pungent that it gets suffocating at times. We cannot even dry our clothes in the balcony as the pigeons keep dirtying them. It should be moved to some place where there are no people living nearby," added Mehernosh.

Monsoon adds to the woes

The acid content in the droppings can eat into soft stone and cause long-term damage to building structures. The droppings also carry pathogens and potential infectious diseases, such as salmonella, tuberculosis and ornithosis. Pigeons also carry allergens that can cause several respiratory diseases, namely pigeon fancier's lung, and skin allergies.

"The droppings are littered all over and around the kabutarkhana, posing a great danger to the health of the locals. And now that monsoon is on, the risk of such diseases spreading has increased manifold. The government, without any delay, should take a decision in citizens' favour and move the kabutarkhana either inside the Jain temple that is adjacent or to any other place according to its preference and free this public space," said Praveen Pasricha of KRA.

The bottleneck creator

Being located in the middle of the road and taking up around 450sqft area, there is not much space for vehicles to ply and pedestrians to walk. "Already there's less space, and on top of that, a new auto stand has been set up at the spot, seriously compounding the problem," said Mehernosh.

In response to the growing demand for the kabutarkhana's closure, Chandanmal Parmar (65), who handles its working, said that because the kabutarkhana was built in memory of a Jain muni, it is a religious and sacred spot.

"It is noble to feed pigeons, which I have been doing. I do not understand why the KRA has a problem with it. It has been there for about 17 years, people have been coming to feed the pigeons since then. If there really was a problem, wouldn't the people stop feeding the birds?" questioned Parmar.

Mona, however, pointed out that it was not necessary to feed the pigeons, as the birds were not dependent on people for food. "This is a business being carried out in the name of feeding pigeons. Tempos filled with grains are brought at the spot, sold to people there to feed the birds, and, subsequently, profits made. That's the reason people with vested interests are resisting the closure," she added.