A bird that had divided the city between concerns over public health and religious sentiments, on Saturday became a political symbol. Even as the newly formed Shanti Doot Jankalyan Party, led by Jain muni Nilesh Chandra Vijay, is set to make the pigeon’s presence felt in the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, a 13-member expert committee appointed by the state government after a Bombay High Court (HC) order on August 13, is gathering feedback from those in favour of kabootarkhanas and those opposed to them, to strike a balance on this polarising issue.
Residents of areas close to pigeon feeding spots have often complained of respiratory illnesses. Pulmonologists say cases of lung diseases caused by pigeons are almost a daily occurrence, but heath authorities do not have specific data yet.
A civic health official said that while a format to report chronic respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis or malaria is in place, the same has not been formulated for respiratory illness related to pigeons yet.
While BMC’s primary healthcare centres get cases of cough, cold and fever throughout the year, they cannot be linked to pigeons, said the official. “In order to establish a causative agent, there is a need for a lot of testing, which is not possible with routine cases. In hospitals, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients sometimes give a history of pigeon exposure, but we don’t have a test available yet to prove it. Some sensitivity or allergy tests are possible, but they are done only if advised by doctors. There are no mandatory guidelines for it,” the health official said.
An expert committee member, however, said that even if there is a single case to show the link between pigeons and respiratory illnesses, the state government can be requested to conduct a survey at the 52 pigeon feeding sites in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
‘People feed pigeons for punya while we suffer’
Opposite the General Post Office (GPO), pigeons continue to flock at a trough, a couple of months after the BMC banned kabootarkhanas in the city. Unlike the one in Dadar, the kabootarkhana near GPO has not been covered with tarpaulin. Here, a plaque states that the pigeon trough was built by late Devidas Prabhoodas Kothari, a philanthropist, in memory of his late daughter Bai Lilavati. Sudhakar Dalvi, 51, born and raised in the Sahyog building next to the kabootarkhana, said the pigeon trough is twice his age.
Pigeons have been a part of his life growing up in his one-room Mumbai Housing and Development Authority (MHADA) tenement. He is seeking treatment at Bombay Hospital for respiratory issues after experiencing shortness of breath, sneezing and cough, for almost a year. In his medical prescription of November 2024, his chest physician had noted he has “exposure to pigeon”.
“We have always lived with pigeons here. Long before I had asthma, my mother had it. She suffered for many years until her death in 2021,” said Dalvi, who uses an inhaler for relief these days, as climbing stairs leaves him breathless.
Dalvi’s neighbour Shabana Mahalingam Naidu, 43, has lived in the building for 20 years. Eight years ago, she moved from the fourth floor to the second. The window next to her bed overlooks the GPO kabootarkhana. “I did not have any illness when I lived on the fourth floor but moving to the second floor brought us closer to the pigeons,” she said.
It started with a cough amid the Covid-19 pandemic when she felt short of breath doing regular chores. She put it down to being overweight, but a medical examination revealed hypersensitivity in the lungs. “I have seen doctors in three major hospitals since then and have been taking very expensive medicines all these years. One doctor even advised moving away from the kabootarkhana,” said Naidu. “People feed pigeons for punya (doing a good deed) but they don’t know how we have suffered,” Naidu said.
Doctors, however, say that cases of Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) caused by pigeons are not rare. A pulmonologist at the Lilavati Hospital, Dr Jalil Parkar said, “We get such patients almost daily. I have treated patients who live near the Dadar Kabootarkhana and Ghatkopar Kabootarkhana. Pigeon droppings and feathers cause ILD, which has been documented in medical literature since time immemorial.”
How does ILD progress? “It starts with interstitial fibrosis. The patient starts coughing and is prescribed antibiotics. When it escalates we have no option but to administer steroids, which have side-effects. This leads to an increased need for oxygen because the saturation level drops,” he explained.
Navi Mumbai-based chest physician Dr Sundeep G Mestri said that many patients approach a chest physician only after being treated by a general physician for a long span. ILD is detected only after a chest physician carries out a CT scan and other tests. “There are various aspects to consider – whether it is occupation-related, bird-related or animal-related. The patients’ history reveals the correct source; subsequent blood tests help prove that it could be due to pigeon droppings,” he said.
‘We stopped feeding pigeons after a death’
In Borivali’s Premji Nagar Neelkamal Cooperative Housing Society, the practice of feeding pigeons stopped after 53-year-old Jayshri Zota succumbed to interstitial fibrosis in 2015. Her son Naitik Zota, 35, said that his mother suffered for about seven years before succumbing to the illness. His mother would visit the Jain temple under their building every day, where pigeons were fed.
A specialist connected her ailment to pigeon exposure. “After being inaccurately diagnosed, we consulted with Dr J R Shah at Jaslok Hospital where her disease was properly diagnosed,” said Zota. As her ailment advanced, she needed oxygen support for 24 hours, he added. “Many-a-time such illnesses go undiagnosed, and families remain unaware of the root cause,” he said. A Jain himself, Zota said today those who wish to continue to follow Jeev Daya (mercy feeding) can do it “on an open ground, far away from residential areas”.
Zota’s family moved out of the housing society in 2020 but Suresh Patel, a member of the society’s managing committee, told HT, “After the death we stopped pigeon feeding in the society. We have had no complaints of any serious illness from anyone since.” The pigeon feeding area that was between the residential buildings is now used for gatherings or Garba during the festive season.
In defence of Dadar Kabootarkhana
The closure of Dadar Kabootarkhana by BMC in early August had generated much unease in the area. Jeev Daya, a practice observed by Jains, came under scrutiny after a PIL raised questions of public health. The kabootarkhana in front of a Jain temple is now covered in grey tarpaulin.
Lalchand Jain, 61, a Goregaon resident and a visitor to the temple, said, “Jeev Daya is the main principle of our religion. We feed all animals. Pigeons are fed near homes too, not just kabootarkhana.” Prakash Jain, 61, a Bhyander resident, said, “Many like us have been coming to the Dadar kabootarkhana for years. People have been running their businesses here for years. None of them have fallen sick.”
Dr Mestri rationalised: “Just like every smoker does not get COPD, every person living near a kabootarkhana does not suffer from respiratory illnesses. But this is an avoidable situation.”