Rats from the sky: Urban India divided over pigeon woes

A jump in the pigeon population has been linked to health and ecological risks

- Debarshi Dasgupta

NEW DELHI - Mr Bandish Sheth and his family have kept up with a daily routine for nearly three decades, despite leading busy lives in India's commercial capital, Mumbai.

Every morning, they feed grains to pigeons at a roundabout after their visit to a local Jain temple.

"Not a day goes by that we don't feed them," said Mr Sheth, 45, a dealer of ready-made garment.

Followers of Jainism, a religion whose adherents are guided by the principle of compassion and non-violence, the Sheths see feeding strays as an integral part of their religious practices.

"We believe that we should not eat without feeding others," he added.

But it is this act of "mercy feeding" pigeons, something also practiced widely by followers of other religions, including Hinduism and Islam, that has increasingly become a source of tension in urban India.

It is pitting locals against each other and sowing discord, including on neighbourhood WhatsApp groups.

Fed on an easy supply of grains, the population of pigeons in Indian cities has jumped dramatically.

It is a phenomenon that has also been aided by how well these birds have adapted to building their nests in the many nooks and crannies of concrete jungles.

According to the 2023 State Of India's Birds report, the population of rock pigeons, also known as common pigeons, in India has increased by more than 150 per cent since 2000 - the highest percentage increase of all bird species whose populations had gone up.

And along with this growth in several Indian cities has come a spike in hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a potentially fatal lung disease caused by the repetitive inhalation of antigens.

Doctors have linked the disease to pigeon exposure, particularly their droppings and feathers.