MUMBAI: Police on Saturday held back restless crowds as civic workers pulled large plastic sheets across the Dadar kabutarkhana, to comply with a court order following a ban on feeding pigeons at kabutarkhanas across the city.
Civic workers, who arrived at the site at 7pm, hoisted bamboos around the heritage structure and began draping it in plastic to enforce the ban. Work continued till late on Saturday night.
The Maharashtra government had on July 4 instructed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to implement its ban on feeding pigeons. It said this causes the birds to congregate in public in large numbers, their droppings posing serious health risks.
Local communities have, however, opposed the ban, saying that pigeon feeding is a cultural and religious tradition, serving as an act of compassion and charity. Bird lovers too have moved court against the ban.
In an order on July 31, the Bombay High Court directed the BMC to take strict action against citizens who continue to feed pigeons despite the ban. It also permitted the BMC to cover the kabutarkhanas, to prevent the birds from assembling at these places.
Saturday’s move by the BMC follows a failed attempt on Friday, when civic workers arrived here at 11pm. They were caught off-guard when, despite the late hour, citizens associated with the Dadar Kabutarkhana Trust and Shri Shantinath Bhagwan Shwetambar Jain Temple, located opposite the kabutarkhana, came out on the streets in large numbers.
“The BMC came at night, without warning us,” said Sandeep Doshi, a trustee of the Dadar kabutarkhana. “People got angry and more than a thousand people came out to stop them. The BMC was unable to produce the court order.”
Police dispersed the crowd after a minor skirmish, which forced the civic workers to retreat. “The trusts gave us written assurances that they would clear some parts of the kabutarkhana and allow us to cover it on Saturday, and so we returned,” said a civic officer with the G North ward.
“With no food and water, the pigeons are growing weak and falling sick. They’re squatting out on the road and being killed by vehicles. This is inhumane,” said Doshi.
The Jain temple had appointed five persons to stand guard around the kabutarkhana all day on Saturday, to drive away pigeons from the road, so that they wouldn’t be harmed. One of them, Dinesh Gulwe, a homeless man, said, “They are paying us ₹800 to stand here from 7am till 7pm, along with food. I hope this act of goodwill will do me some good.”
Meanwhile, the BMC fined five to six people ₹500 each for feeding pigeons at the Dadar kabutarkhana on Saturday. A total of 16 people have been fined at this spot till July 15.
Meanwhile, the Mahim police registered the first offence against unknown persons for pigeon-feeding at the kabutarkana at L J Road in Mahim. It was registered on Friday when the feeders arrived on a bike. The offence has been registered under sections 223 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant), 270 (public nuisance) and 271 (negligent act likely to spread infection of dangerous disease) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).