Marathi outfit protests at kabutarkhana; mulling controlled feeding, BMC tells Bombay HC

Members of a pro-Marathi outfit were detained by the police on Wednesday for staging a protest at the kabutarkhana in Mumbai’s Dadar in support of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) ban on feeding pigeons.

Marathi Ekikaran Samiti chief Govardhan Deshmukh, who was also detained, asked why no case had been filed against members of the Jain community who allegedly removed the tarpaulin sheets covering the pigeon feeding spot on August 6. Members of the Marathi outfit were released later.

Jain monk Nileshchandra Vijay on Monday had warned of launching an indefinite hunger strike from Wednesday against the civic body’s move to close down kabutarkhanas in the city and stated that “if necessary, we will also take up arms for religion”.

Pramod Sudhakar Parte, vice-president of the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti, said they were angered by the remarks of the monk.

‘Believe in ahimsa’

Later, the Jain monk clarified that he meant taking the path of satyagraha. “When I said shastra (arms), I meant taking the path of satyagraha (search for truth) like Mahatma Gandhi and sitting on hunger strike. We believe in ahimsa (non-violence). This is not a conflict between Marathi and Marwari,” he said, adding that he is willing to meet Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray to avoid escalation of the row.

Later in the day, the BMC informed the Bombay High Court that it intends to allow controlled feeding of pigeons at the kabutarkhana in Dadar daily for two hours from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. under certain conditions.

The court, however, directed the civic body to issue a public notice inviting objections before taking a final decision.

Advocate General Birendra Saraf, for the State government, submitted a list of 11 names to be part of a committee that would carry out a scientific study on the issue of feeding pigeons at public places and its impact on human health. The High Court said the government shall notify the committee by August 20.

The court was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by people who regularly feed pigeons at kabutarkhanas.

‘Find middle ground’

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis advocated for finding the “middle ground” to resolve the ongoing controversy, saying both public health and religious sentiments must be respected. He proposed creating designated feeding areas away from human settlements and noted that “controlled feeding could be one solution”.