From sacred tradition to shutdown: The history and end of Mumbai's Kabutarkhanas

Indian Express

2 days ago

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday initiated action against the Dadar Kabutarkhana, pulling large plastic sheets across the city's most iconic pigeon feeding spot, to comply with a Bombay High Court order following a ban on feeding pigeons at kabutarkhanas across the city.
Feeding pigeons is a contentious topic in Mumbai and a practice that has been ongoing for centuries. Here's a look at the history of kabutarkhanas and pigeon feeding in the city and why it has become so controversial.
Why are pigeons fed in Mumbai?
In many Indian cultures, feeding pigeons is considered an act of piety and is believed to bring blessings from ancestors. Offering food to pigeons is said to satisfy the souls of deceased ancestors and relieve any ancestral affliction. This practice is considered especially effective on new moon days (Amavasya).
There is also a belief in some cultures where pigeons are seen as messengers between earthly and the spiritual realms, feeding them helps open one's awareness to spiritual energies, fostering a greater connection with the divine.
In Jainism, feeding pigeons is a form of jeev daya or compassion for living beings, one of the central tenets of Jain ethics. Many Jain families and temples organise regular pigeon feeding, often near temples or trust-run kabutarkhanas. The Dadar Kabutarkhana is one such feeding spot that was set up by a Jain temple.
The large number of Gujarati and Jain merchants in erstwhile Bombay meant that kabutarkhanas could be found in major corners of the city. Their presence also contributed to the city's high pigeon population, a fact noted even in the early 20th century.
'They are attracted to Bombay by two things: plentiful house accommodation and the benevolence of pious Hindoo grain merchants,' wrote Edward Hamilton Aitken in his 1909 book The Common Birds of Bombay, elaborating on the reason for the city's large pigeon population.
Early organised pigeon feeding took the form of parabadis , large, ornate birdhouses, often reaching seven meters higher, usually made of wood and elaborately carved and painted. These were roofed, house-like structures raised on platforms to keep them out of reach of cats and dogs. Grain was regularly placed on these platforms to feed the birds, usually pigeons.
Larger versions of these were called kabutriyas or kabutarkhanas, ornate structures constructed with funds donated by the local community. Devout individuals would regularly leave grain and water in the kabutriya for the birds.
Kabutarkhanas evolved as charitable spaces, where community members could donate grain and fulfill their religious duty, explaining the proximity of many of these structures to temples and other religious sites.
Today, Mumbai has over 50 kabutarkhanas, primarily located in the city proper, with a few in the suburban areas. One of the oldest and most renowned is the Dadar Kabutarkhana, operated by the Dadar Kabutarkhana Trust.
In 1944, the Bombay Municipality issued a letter to the Jain Temple in Dadar permitting the construction of a traffic island to allow bird feeding. This was in response to a letter from the Jain Temple requesting permission to set up an enclosure to protect pigeons that flocked near the temple and were at risk of being run over by cars.
While pigeon feeding was widely accepted in erstwhile Bombay, concerns began to emerge in the mid-90s, with the proliferation of medical studies linking pigeon droppings to respiratory ailments.
Subsequently, complaints regarding pigeon feeding gained traction in Mumbai, with citizens reporting respiratory issues related to the high concentration of pigeons.
In 2013, a BMC engineer died after reportedly being thrown off his motorcycle when a pigeon struck him near the kabutarkhana at Grant Road on June 30. Following the incident, the local corporator removed grain-sellers from the street. Two days later, the then BMC Law Committee Chairman, Makrand Narvekar, proposed relocating kabutarkhanas to less crowded areas. However, the proposal never resulted in concrete action.
Since 2014, several kabutarkhanas in the city have been removed, and individuals caught feeding pigeons have been fined by the BMC. The proliferation of the pigeon population
What marked the end for Kabutarkhanas?
On July 3, 2025, during a Maharashtra Legislative Council session, Minister Uday Samant (on behalf of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) announced the immediate closure of 51 kabutarkhanas in Mumbai, citing respiratory health risks from pigeon droppings and feathers. Subsequent to this announcement the BMC commenced a citywide enforcement drive fining those found feeding pigeons and shutting down Kabutarkhanas in the city.
On July 15, the Bombay High Court, while noting that the rights of humans and animals must be balanced, declined to pass an interim order permitting pigeon feeding twice a day. However, the Court directed that no heritage kabutarkhanas should be demolished until further orders.
A division bench of Justices Girish S. Kulkarni and Arif S. Doctor was hearing a writ petition filed by animal rights activist Pallavi Sachin Patil, along with Sneha Deepak Visaria and Savita Mahajan, seeking to restrain the BMC from demolishing kabutarkhanas and to ensure that citizens were not prevented from feeding pigeons.
On July 31, the Bombay High Court directed the BMC to lodge FIRs against individuals 'illegally' and in a 'defiant manner' feeding pigeons at Dadar (West) and other kabutarkhanas, despite the ban and the HC's refusal to grant interim relief in earlier hearings.
On Saturday Mumbai's most iconic pigeon feeding spot was finally shut down and covered in thick sheets of grey tarpaulin.