BJP faces Maha heat over pigeon feeding in Mumbai

Feeding pigeons is turning out to be the next flash point over the native versus the outsider war ahead of the Mumbai civic elections as a controversy erupted after Jain and Gujarati community members allegedly tore a tarpaulin sheet from atop the Dadar Kabutarkhana to feed pigeons.

The tarpaulin sheet was put on top of the Kabutarkhana after the Bombay High Court put a ban on feeding pigeons due to health concerns. The Jain community and animal rights activists have protested the ban and said that there should be an alternative mechanism to feed the pigeons or else the birds would starve.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting on Tuesday to resolve the issue and said that the civic body will undertake 'restrictive feeding' of the pigeons. However, with the tarpaulin sheets still covering the Kabutarkhana on Wednesday, irate Jain community members allegedly tore the tarpaulin sheets and fed the pigeons. The Mumbai Civic body has put up the tarpaulin sheets again to prevent feeding.


Visuals of the act have gone viral, and political reactions have begun coming in with the Shiv Sena also deploring the act. "The protest by the Jain community outside the Dadar Kabutarkhana is over the top and excessive. Under which law does such an agitation fit?" questioned Shiv Sena MLC and party spokesperson Manisha Kayande.

Kayande said, "When there is a kite festival in Gujarat several birds get killed or injured due to the sharp strings. Doesn't a religious issue crop up then? It has been scientifically proven that pigeons cause health issues. It has nothing to do with religion."

As the visuals of the protesters tearing up the tarpaulin sheet and feeding the pigeons spread online, the Sena-BJP ruling coalition received flak online for 'bowing before a small minority'.

MNS is keenly watching the situation and has supported the move to ban pigeon feeding. It is seeking a ban on feeding pigeons in Thane.

BJP minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha visited the spot and advised protestors to be patient. He called the protestors taking the law into their own hands and feeding the pigeons 'unfortunate.' Especially when "the chief minister had kept a balance and taken a sensitive view of the situation", said Lodha.