‘People need to know’: Former Pune corporator who lost daughter to pigeon-borne infection aims to spread awareness

The family’s long experience with doctors began on this note. They went to major hospitals and doctors in Pune as well as Mumbai’s Lilawati Hospital. Everywhere, after two to three months of tests, the diagnosis was the same. In a couple of years, Sheetal’s health began to seriously deteriorate. Soon, she started having problems walking and found it difficult to breathe. At night, she could not sleep. Eventually, she needed oxygen and carried a small oxygen box when she went out on family events. After a year of that, she needed oxygen 24 hours. At night, she would struggle in vain to sleep but end up coughing.

At DY Patil Hospital & Research Centre in Pune, she was put up as a candidate for lung donation. “We got lungs twice. The first time, it did not match. The second time, the doctor said that the lungs were damaged and could not be used on Sheetal,” says Mankar.

It was with back pain that Sheetal went to the hospital on January 19. “The doctor said that she needed to be admitted. She was fine with that. She was a fighter who had built a gym at home because doctors had told her to exercise. She said ‘I will come back home’,” says Mankar.

After her death, Mankar, who has educated himself on the health dangers of pigeons, is determined to spread awareness among the public. “Pigeon droppings, after two or three days, dry and turn into powder that is carried by the air. The air comes into the house and infects us. Once a person’s immunity weakens, the symptoms will arise, and this can happen years later,” he says.

Sheetal and her family had changed houses twice, but the infection had caught on. “Pigeons have been a part of nature since before human settlements. They are capable of looking for food. The practice of feeding pigeons is interfering with their ability to look for food. The congestion of pigeons in crowded urban areas is also harming our health,” says Mankar.