A man stands next to a 'kabutarkhana' covered in sheets by BMC, at Dadar.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Tensions flared up in kabutarkhana in Dadar after a huge gathering of the Jain community staged a massive protest and ripped open the plastic sheets put up by the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to comply with the Maharashtra government order and Bombay High Court directives.
The development comes a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked the BMC to permit the feeding of pigeons in a controlled manner - and work out alternatives.
On Wednesday morning, hundreds of Jain community members thronged the iconic kabutarkhana in Dadar - and some of them climbed atop the bamboo structure and ripped open the cover, which the BMC installed over the weekend. The protesters included a large number of women.
The protest which began peacefully, soon turned chaotic - and many demonstrators sat on the roads and engaged in sloganeering.
Mumbai has 51 such kabutarkhanas - and the feeding of pigeons has been posing a major problem.
Meanwhile, Minister of Skill, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who is also co-guardian minister of Mumbai suburbs, expressed disappointment over the protests.
“The incident that occurred this morning at kabutarkhana is extremely unfortunate. It has left me distressed. On the issue of kabutarkhana, the Chief Minister has taken a balanced and sensitive decision. By giving clear instructions to implement alternative measures, he has struck a golden mean in this matter. I humbly appeal to all citizens to maintain restraint and peace, and no one should take the law into their own hands,” said Lodha.