BMC demolishes Girgaum kabutarkhana once again

Mumbai:  Only four months after it was demolished, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) once again razed the kabutarkhana at Girgaum Chowpatty on Friday. It was constructed by the local BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha.

According to civic officials, the encroachment removal squad of D ward demolished the enclosure, which had railings around it. The place was being used as a feeding place for pigeons.

The BMC had demolished the kabutarkhana in October last year. However, it was constructed again, said locals. The Shiv Sena had claimed that the structure was constructed illegally by violating CRZ rules.

Irked by the action, Mr Lodha held protests at the city collector office by staging a Thiyya agitation. Mr Lodha said, “The kabutarkhana was constructed in 2010 after obtaining the permission from a high court-appointed monitoring committee. It was built by the Mhada (Maharashtra Housing And Area Development Authority) from my MLA funds. We brought this to the notice of the collector and she has promised to review her directives by seeking a permission from the state government.”

However, Congress corporator Rajendra Narvankar termed the Kabutarkhanas as a ‘nuisance’ and demanded that they should be removed. “In my area in B ward, several people have taken ill due to the infections caused by pigeon’s feathers and droppings. Locals have demanded that the kabutarkhanas should be shifted away from the human habitats,” he said.