Hyderabad: Cops come to rescue of starving pigeons

Following the complete lockdown, the hands which fed them have vanished and now the birds are left to fight for their own survival. The pigeons which were regularly spotted at Muslimjung bridge, Mecca Masjid, Haj House and traditional Kabutar Khanas were barely able to walk, let alone fly due to starvation

Hyderabad: The pigeons in the city which mostly depend on the regular feeding by animal lovers are amongst the worst-affected creatures due to the lockdown. Those who used to feed the birds are barely seen at pigeon spots in Old City.

With the regular bird lovers missing and none to take care, the pigeons are starving and their health conditions deteriorating. Following the complete lockdown, the hands which fed them have vanished and now the birds are left to fight for their own survival. The pigeons which were regularly spotted at Muslimjung bridge, Mecca Masjid, Haj House and traditional Kabutar Khanas were barely able to walk let alone fly due to starvation.

At Muslimjung Pul, the policemen, who were deployed for controlling the movement of public, after observing the bird's plight purchased a bag full of grains and threw them on the ground as a feed for hungry birds. "A bag of 5 kg grains was finished within a span of 10-15 minutes and the pigeons were still hungry. They started coming near me to show their gratitude and for more grains," said Mohammed Ismail, a traffic constable.

Amongst those who could feed the birds included some journalists on duty, who after witnessing the phenomenon, also decided to feed them. An Urdu channel reporter Shaik Ahmed said, "For the past 2 days I have been feeding the pigeons with jowar and other grains and also placing water in most of the spots." He said that "we should also focus on the voiceless creatures during the lockdown."