Jain monk stages protest against closure of Dadar Kabutarkhana in Mumbai

Jain monk Nileshchandra Vijay began a protest at Mumbais Azad Maidan on Monday opposing the civic bodys decision to shut down the Dadar Kabutarkhana a site where the community members have traditionally fed pigeons reported news agency PTISpeaking to reporters before starting his protest at the site near the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC headquarters in south Mumbai the monk said he intended to stage an indefinite fast to demand restoration of the Kabutarkhana reported PTIHe was reacting to the BMCs recent move to allow controlled feeding of pigeons at four locations Worli Reservoir the mangrove area on Lokhandwala Back Road in Andheri West the AiroliMulund check post area and Gorai ground in Borivali WestAccording to the BMC feeding will be permitted only between 7 am and 9 am and nongovernmental organisations will be responsible for managing these sitesThe civic body has clarified that this is a temporary arrangement until the expert committees report and court orders are received and that closed Kabutarkhanas will not be reopened for nowThe alternate sites given by the BMC are as far as 4 5 and even 9 kilometres away Will a pigeon fly so far The administration should have given a site within 2 km of the existing Kabutarkhana the Jain monk said reported PTIHe said if Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange can protest at the Azad Maidan for his communitys interest then why cant he sit there for the welfare of all the animalsIf I am asked to leave this place I will sit in protest at Dadar Kabutarkhana he said reported PTIThe permission given for feeding the pigeons states that the birds can be fed two hours each in the morning and evening at the alternate sites I demand that similar permission be given for the Dadar Kabutarkhana Vijay said reported PTIHe also said their community was willing to raise funds to purchase land if the civic body allotted an appropriate siteIf the BMC gives a site the Jain community is ready to purchase it by raising funds he said reported PTIThe Kabutarkhana in Dadar area has existed for more than a century and holds religious significance for the community the Jain monk saidThese Kabutarkhanas are more than a hundred years old It is the house of pigeons and it is our responsibility to protect their home he saidThe monk claimed that since the closure of the feeding area the pigeon population has drastically declinedWherever the Jain community has its residences and buildings the pigeons are being fed But more than one lakh pigeons have died since the closure of the Kabutarkhana he claimed adding that community organisations have currently been treating 50 to 60 injured or sick pigeons daily reported PTIHe asserted that the protest would remain peaceful We are protesting for the pigeons which are considered messengers of peace he added reported PTIEarlier the Jain community had staged protests across Mumbai opposing the civic bodys decision even as several residents supported the ban citing concerns over pigeon droppings and related respiratory ailmentsThe Jain community members had launched demonstrations after the civic body shut down pigeonfeeding enclosures in compliance with a Bombay High Court orderTensions first escalated in August after members of the community tore down the tarpaulin covers installed by the BMC at Dadar Kabutarkhana The civic body however maintained its decision to keep the facilities closedJain monks had held a prayer meeting for the pigeons that reportedly died following the closure of the Kabutarkhana urging the government to reopen the enclosuresCommunity groups such as Aamhi Girgaonkar protested the Jain communitys stance by displaying placards reading Kabutar Go Back to Marwad Rajasthan supporting the closure of the feeding enclosures to protect the health of humansWith inputs from PTI