Mumbai : In a shocking case from Mumbai’s Dadar area, a 51-year-old woman, Vanita Vijay Sangde, has been battling severe health issues for over a decade, reportedly caused by a single pigeon feather.
Her troubles began 10–11 years ago while regularly passing through Dadar’s Kabutarkhana (pigeon feeding zone) with her child. Soon after, she developed breathing problems, severe coughing, and skin allergies. Medical investigations linked her condition to exposure from a pigeon feather—triggering an incurable lung allergy.
Doctors have diagnosed her with a rare respiratory illness caused by airborne allergens from pigeons. Though medications and oxygen support offer temporary relief, her condition has no permanent cure. A lung transplant has been suggested, but the cost is beyond the family’s means.
Vanita has remained indoors for the past 10 years, only stepping out for hospital visits. Her family now demands a ban on pigeon feeding in public places, warning that such activities pose serious health risks to others as well.
Medical experts have also cautioned that exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers can lead to serious lung diseases like hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which may cause lasting damage if untreated.
