ONE man dressed in green and black hastily carrying a cardboard box in his hand. Inside, there was a pigeon, injured and in need of serious medical attention. The staff gently removed the bird, brought it in for treatment and observation. Over time, it was fed and cared for well, before being released.
This is what goes on every day at Shree Shankheswar Parshwanath Jain Kabootar Daana Seva Samithi, an NGO and ‘dove only’ hospital located in Rajaji Nagar, Bengaluru where treatment and rehabilitation is free. for injured pigeons.
“Doves are considered a symbol of peace worldwide, and have historically been used as messengers. So we treat them very carefully and feed them well,” said Vasanthraj Ranka, treasurer of the hospital.
The hospital, part of the NGO, was first founded four years ago by Vasanthraj, who followed up on his father’s 24-year-old initiative. The NGO was founded in 1998 by Pukhraj Ranka, Vasanthraj’s father, along with his friend Pannalal.
“My father and his friend used to feed the pigeons every day. As the number of pigeons increased, they realized the need to set up a trust fund dedicated to raising them. The trust was then formed with 23 members who had similar interests,” said Vasanthraj, who also runs an insurance business.
The trust has been feeding pigeons daily for more than two decades. “Every day, two employees go out to feed the birds at 6:30 a.m., without missing a single time. We even went out to feed them while in captivity after special permission from the police. We now feed around 15 sacks (50 kg each) of grain daily and spend more than Rs 50 lakh per year,” said the 55-year-old.
(Please note: Many experts consider overfeeding pigeons a serious problem that needs to be addressed. It has led to a population explosion that has led to the spread of respiratory diseases, while also causing disturbances. mixes the natural balance due to increased dependence of birds on humans.)
“We only receive money through donations. Also, we never go around asking for funding,” he explains.
After starting hospitalization in 2018, Vasanthraj received a positive response from Bengaluru residents, he said. “The rescue team made sure the birds were brought to the hospital safely. They send pigeons through service providers like Dunzo, or bring them here directly. Some of them go even further by sending them in luxury cars. The rest is up to us. We don’t charge a dime for our service,” he explains.
“We currently keep about 700 pigeons in our hospital. They were all brought in by kind people who happened to see them injured or suffering from some disease. They are treated for injury or illness and are well fed. Then, when they’re healthy enough to fly away, we’ll let them go,” he added.
Winged patients are also brought to the hospital through other delivery and transportation providers such as Swiggy Genie, Ola and Uber. “The presence of several service providers has made our job easier. If we had to send our own staff to rescue the pigeon, it would cost us a lot of money and we couldn’t afford it. So we recommend sending them through these service providers,” he added.
According to Vasanthraj, on average, the hospital receives about 30-40 pigeons every day. “Most of the birds we get are sick, infected, or injured, or have their legs or wings cut off,” he said. Sometimes these birds lose their wings, they may not be able to fly anymore. So we keep them in the hospital forever.”
The hospital adopts pigeons according to their state of health.
“As soon as we received them, we let them rest in the same box for at least an hour to let them get comfortable. After observing their behavior, we transfer them to the cage and treat them according to their health condition,” said Prashanth R, a rehabilitation specialist at the hospital.
One of the floors in the building was used as a cloak to hold grains. “We keep all the sacks that we receive as donations in the hospital. We mainly feed them jowar,” said Suresh, the hospital’s manager.
In addition to keeping pigeons, the hospital also accommodates some of their staff in the building itself. “We have room for some staff in the hospital because we want the pigeons to be taken care of even at night,” he said.
The second floor of the hospital is dedicated to the captive breeding of sick birds. “Birds with Paramyxovirus (PMV), chickenpox, eye infections and other medical conditions are housed separately and treated with appropriate medications,” explains Prasanth.
When the birds recovered, they were taken to the hospital’s terrace. “The fully rehabilitated birds are released in different parts of the city. Even sometimes after we release the birds, they find their way back to the hospital and to the terrace,” he added.
The group feeds the pigeons daily across the city at locations such as Cubbon Park, Freedom Park, Devaiah Park, Nethaji Park, Manjunath Nagar and the Press Club.
Do you also want to help a pigeon? Here’s how you can send one to the hospital.
- Put the bird in a cardboard box
- Make small holes for ventilation
- Spread a few layers of old clothes to make cushions.
- Order a car from any delivery or transportation provider.
- Ask the driver to deliver the bird safely
How to send pigeons after 6 pm
- Place the pigeon firmly in a cardboard box and keep it overnight and send it to the hospital after 9am the next day.
- Pigeons never eat/drink between dusk and dawn. So feed them raw wheat/jowar/ragi/fried/green gram and water after sunrise.
- Do not force the pigeon to eat as it may choke.
For more information you can contact Vasanthraj at 9845221309
The source:
TOI
Deccan Chronicles
Hindus
(Edited by Divya Sethu)
