09/11/2024
In Indian culture, people like to feed pigeons for cultural, auspicious, or fortune-related reasons. And this has been going on for a very, very long time, as we know, and in several areas. In fact, in Delhi City, we see that there are areas where people would just come, stop their car or their vehicle in the middle of the road and start feeding the pigeons. Now, this poses hazard to the society in many ways. First of all, when these people come, these feeding points are in the center of very busy roads where there is very heavy traffic. And you would see that people will stop their car without seeing how is the traffic flow. They will open their doors or stop their bike, whatever vehicle, irrespective of the safety of others or themselves, and they'll start feeding the pigeons. Second and most important hazard is the health hazard. We know pigeons, when they come in such big number, they also have a significant amount of pigeon droppings around, and they also have a lot of fluttering of the feathers there, which makes this huge congregation of pigeons making it like a breeding ground for a lot of pathogens.
Most important pathogen is the fungal spores, the cryptococci, histoplasma which are present in the pigeon droppings which when inhaled, they lead to very severe hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and many other respiratory conditions, including asthma or exacerbations. These spores also get seeded into the lungs of these individuals, and can lead to severe lung infections in children elderly, diabetics, and immunocompromised patients. This exposure to pigeon droppings can lead to life treatening fungal infections in post transplant / chemotherapy patients. These concentrated pigeon feeding areas are also breeding grounds for bacterias like Salmonella, E. Coli, and can lead to spread of these diseases in a very big number. Because these breeding grounds are in very busy areas, these pigeons start nesting in near by residential and office buildings thus taking this menace to offices and homes.
This pigeon feeding has become a profession for some who have occupied key foot paths and are unknowingly spreading this menace at a very rapid pace.
Despite all this No step has been taken till now to stop this practice, which has been going on on cultural/ superstition or religious grounds. I think these feedings should be stopped because they are posing a significant health hazard, to a very large set of population. Thank.
