Mumbai's pigeon population is growing - people feed them and waste food is readily available. But droppings and feathers cause disease and respiratory illness.
00:05I remember playing with pigeon feathers when I would go downstairs.
00:11I would use them as quills and that was my favourite pastime.
00:15I did not think that a harmless feather would suddenly just ruin my life for the next many years.
00:23Because of all of these allergies, I couldn't participate in sports in school, I couldn't really do much.
00:32Navya Desha and her mother now live in a high-rise apartment in a central suburb of Mumbai.
00:37They have put up a net to ward off pigeons.
00:40For years, Navya has suffered from severe allergies caused by pigeon exposure.
00:45That point where we were staying, it was an oldish housing society and there was a situation where there was dust,
00:55there were rodents, there were also pigeons around.
00:58So at that point, it didn't strike me at all.
01:00But when she was about 5, I think all her allergies kind of came to a peak.
01:06She had dermal allergies, she had gastric allergies and we were shocked to see that there was a plus 3 sensitivity
01:14to a few triggers and these were pigeon fur, pigeon poop and a few more things.
01:22The problem is that everyday, crowds of people visit the centuries-old Kabuturkhana, pigeon feeding zone,
01:29in the neighbourhood of Dadar.
01:31Masi feeding is traditionally seen as an act of compassion.
01:39Businessman Vajlal Jain has been doing it for decades.
01:43Mercy feeding is the biggest act of kindness we can do.
01:52These are helpless creatures, dogs, cats and pigeons.
02:00But now doctors are warning that these helpless pigeons are linked to a severe lung disease.
02:11Hypersensitive pneumonitis is a type of ILD, that is interstitial lung disease.
02:16And it has been directly related to the exposure to pigeon dust, pigeon droppings and pigeon feathers.
02:23It is on the rise in the recent times because of the increased exposure to these pigeons in residential areas.
02:32Pulmonologist Sandeep Mestri treats an average of 7 patients a month with a condition which can be fatal.
02:39It is caused by repeated inhalation of antigens from pigeon droppings and pigeon bloom.
02:44Exposure to these antigens can trigger an immune response in the lungs.
02:48If it is not corrected at the right time, there are chances that because of the chronic exposure, the lung may get fibrosed.
02:57And a fibrosed lung is of no use.
03:00So the patients usually land up with symptoms of chronic cough, chronic breathlessness.
03:07Once she was no longer exposed to pigeons, Navia's health began to recover after just three months.
03:19Subsequently, her dermal allergies went away.
03:21Her hive stopped entirely.
03:23Now that's the interesting part, right?
03:25We think the pigeon allergy was the bronchial problem.
03:27But because the strength of the overall body improved, the dermal allergies went away.
03:32The rock pigeon's natural habitat is coastal cliffs.
03:37But these days they are found in cities too.
03:39All over Mumbai, people feed them.
03:43The city has banned it and imposed fines of 500 rupees, the equivalent of around 50 euros.
03:49But this is rarely enforced.
03:51The authorities refuse to be interviewed about the effectiveness of the measure.
03:56But Jen won't be stopped from feeding pigeons, not by fines and not by medical warnings.
04:11Do you know that pigeon exposure can lead to infections?
04:14No, that's incorrect.
04:17That's just something people say.
04:19You don't get diseases.
04:21We feed them at home too.
04:22We have been doing it for 10-15 years.
04:24There's been no problem.
04:25Basically, feeding pigeon is considered as very religious or some kind of a tradition or some kind of a… in India.
04:37And so, it becomes very personal for them.
04:41They feel that, okay, he's coming into my personal space, so I would try to avoid it.
04:47Many patients have stopped coming to us just because we, in daily visits, we tell them that, please avoid this, which they cannot.
04:58And so, well, they have to suffer it later on.
05:02Pigeons are fed an estimated 40 kilos per capita a year.
05:06Some believe the best way to get the problem under control is with targeted cults.
05:11One conservation organization wants to regulate pigeon populations with a natural method.
05:17So, one of the projects of BNHS is to conservation breeding of falcons and goshawk and falcons, some of the raptors.
05:30And then release that population after breeding, release that population back in the urban atmosphere like Mumbai, which may control the pigeon population naturally.
05:42But until such long-term solutions take effect, the health risks for vulnerable people remain.
05:49Any cluster of pigeons in a society is going to affect 100% of infants in that locality to have a compromised immunity, which will in turn trigger asthma, other bronchial triggers.
06:02Do the math.
06:03Do the math.
06:04You need a legislation around it for you to understand that if I don't curb this with legislation, that this problem is not going to go away.
06:13Many people are at risk from exposure to pigeons.
06:16The sooner hard and fast rules about pigeon feeding are introduced, the better.
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