Row over ban on feeding pigeons: Jain monk puts hunger strike on hold, awaits meeting with Fadnavis

Jain Monk Nileshchandra Vijay temporarily kept the indefinite hunger strike planned to start on August 13 after the first talks about the feeding ban in Kabutarkhana (Pigeon Feeding Point) in Dadar with the Prime Minister of Maharashtra.

While talking HinduMr. Vijay said he decided to wait for a meeting with Prime Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “We expect a meeting in three days. We do not only believe in leaving a letter. We want a clear, face -to -face communication to provide all our complaints about feeding innocent pigeons that are dependent on cereals and water in Kabutarkhana for years.”

However, the religious leader clearly stated that the pause was temporary. “Yes, I explained that I would sit on a hunger strike against the ban from August 13th. We decided to wait for three more days after the discussion. If there is no positive response from the meeting, we will get a call accordingly. I will not stop.”

Mr. Vijay also warned the government government that the protest would continue with a Lakh member of the Jain community from Mumbai if not removed within a ban. “The government should be afraid of the emergence of the BMC elections. If they continue their harassment against innocent pigeons, none of the Jain community will vote. We will boycott the civilian elections approaching the protest,” he added.

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the petition that challenged the decision of the Supreme Court of Bombay, and directed the Brahhanmumbai Municipality Company to register criminal cases against individuals who feed pigeons in Kabutarkhanas in Kabutarkhanas. The Apex court observed that the proceedings were waiting in front of the Supreme Court and that the value of the case was taken into consideration. In such a case, parallel tolerance is not appropriate by this court.

The order of the Supreme Court of Bombay was based on public health concern. The court thought that the nutrition of pigeons was a serious and potential health hazard for people of all ages. The court had previously limited BMC to destroying the former inheritance Kabutarkhanas in the metropolis, but refused to allow birds to feed.

Meanwhile, community members have developed alternative ways to continue implementing without violating the ban. These include wearing shelves on the roofs of their cars to serve as a nutrition station for pigeons. Jain leader Bhagyachandra Muni said, “Our cars are just around Kabutarkhana and feeding pigeons. There is no prohibition of feeding pigeons on our car roof, so no one should have a problem with it,” he said.

Jains has also given an alarm about what pigeons described as mass death since nutritional restrictions began. Mr. Vijay claimed that about 10,000 pigeons have died in the last 15 days. “We have all the evidence. They will die without water and food,” he said, and added that the community plans to present these evidence to the Prime Minister and later to the court.