Pune News: Residents Concerned Over Health Risks As Pigeons Flock At Dolphin Chowk In Bibwewadi
Pune News: Residents Concerned Over Health Risks As Pigeons Flock At Dolphin Chowk In Bibwewadi ( Representational Image )
Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been actively educating citizens to avoid feeding pigeons and birds in open areas, even imposing fines on those caught doing so on roads. However, a recent move by the municipal road department contradicts this effort. In Bibwewadi’s Dolphin Chowk, a special arrangement has been made for feeding birds as part of road beautification, raising health concerns among local residents.
Due to this setup, bird lovers in the area have been regularly placing grains for pigeons, which attract large numbers of birds to the area. This influx of pigeons poses a health risk to the residents and passersby, as pigeon droppings and feathers are known to cause respiratory illnesses like hypersensitive pneumonia and asthma. The issue has been escalated to the Bibwewadi Regional Office, but responses have been vague, with officials claiming the space was designed as a traffic island or pedestrian rest area rather than a feeding spot.
Local residents have raised concerns that the sudden flight of pigeons near the road poses a safety hazard for drivers and pedestrians. They are demanding the divider’s height be increased, in line with others on the same road, to prevent feeding and minimize health and safety risks.
Experts have reiterated that pigeon droppings can lead to serious lung conditions, and the municipal road department’s provision of food and water stations for pigeons is viewed as contradictory to the health department’s ongoing efforts to curb such practices.
