In a counter to Jain protest, Marathi group come out at Dadar for closure of pigeon-feeding spots

According to the Mumbai Police, around 15 people who had gathered at the site were detained and later allowed to go. No FIR was registered in the incident, said officials.

Written by Nayonika Bose

Mumbai | Updated: August 14, 2025 11:19 IST

As the police started detaining protestors, the people congregated there expressed anger over the police action and demanded why no FIRs were filed against members of the Jain community, who had dismantled the covers erected over the closed feeding spot. (file photo)

A week after people, including Jain community members who were protesting to reopen the closed Kabutarkhana at Dadar, clashed with police, the 92-year-old feeding site once again became the epicentre of protests on Wednesday as members of the Marathi Ekikaran Samiti and local residents gathered there to support the closure of such sites.

According to police, around 15 people were detained and later allowed to go. No FIR was registered in the incident, said officials.

On Wednesday morning, over 150 people gathered near the Dadar Kabutarkhana, supporting the closure of the pigeon feeding sites, citing health concerns. Anticipating huge crowd, the Mumbai Police deployed heavy force while some shopkeepers kept shops shut.

As police started detaining protesters, those who gathered expressed anger over police action and sought to know why no FIRs were filed against members of the Jain community, who had dismantled the covers over the spot.

The crowd also voiced their opposition to the Jain community’s support for pigeon feeding and expressed their anger over the remarks made by Jain monk Nilesh Chandra Vijay, who threatened a hunger strike and said that they would take up “arms” to protect their religion earlier this month.
“In a city like Dadar, members of the Jain community came together to support feeding pigeons, which is in contempt of the high court orders. Last week, women and men of the community brought weapons to forcefully open the covering at the site. This may not be a Jain-Marathi issue but why are members of the Jain community suddenly making this a question over their religion,” Pramod Sudhakar Parte, president of Marathi Ekikaran Samiti told The Indian Express.

Parte further alleged, “When the community members staged their protest and opened the coverings, the police did not take any action. Yet, today, when we just came together to support this cause, why has the police detained us?”

Chetan Kamble, a local resident who joined the protest on Wednesday, said, “It is outrageous that those who are demanding that law be upheld and supporting the court’s orders are the ones who are being detained while no action has been taken against those who tore down the BMC-installed tarpaulin and fed pigeons. Why is there one rule for one particular community and another for the rest of us?”

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However, in the aftermath of the protest launched on Wednesday, Jain monk Nilesh Chandra Vijay told reporters that the tools were not taken out against any Marathi persons but to cut through the covering at the Dadar feeding spot, which had not been taken down by the civic body despite the government’s decision to permit controlled feeding.

“We had brought sharp tools (aari) to cut through the bamboo and ropes, which were so strong that we were unable to dismantle them with bare hands. We did not use any weapons. We only wanted to feed the pigeons and therefore, we used these tools to cut the covering,” said the Jain monk.

The protest comes a week after a crowd gathered at the contested site on August 7 to tear down the tarpaulin sheets and forcefully feed pigeons. Despite the angst against the civic decision to close kabutarkhanas across the city, the civic crackdown has continued unabated with the BMC on Monday reinstalling the tarpaulin cover and shielding the site with barricades.

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