The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has completed the installation of transparent acrylic sheets around Mumbai’s Grade-IIA Dadar Kabutarkhana, replacing metal sheets that civic officials said were being removed by hawkers to store goods. The new enclosure is intended to prevent encroachment while keeping the heritage structure visible.
Yogesh Desai, assistant municipal commissioner of the BMC’s G-North ward, said the installation work had been completed and that the structure would be strictly monitored to ensure that no one enters it. The intervention follows continued restrictions on pigeon-feeding at the site, which has remained shut for more than a year.
The kabutarkhana had earlier been covered with metal sheets. According to the civic administration, hawkers were illegally removing those sheets and using the enclosed space for storage. The BMC subsequently opted for transparent acrylic panels, allowing the structure to remain visible while creating a physical barrier around it.
Dadar Kabutarkhana is a Grade-IIA heritage structure, making the choice of enclosure significant for both civic management and the site’s public appearance. The acrylic sheets are designed to address the immediate encroachment concern without completely obscuring the structure from pedestrians and visitors.
The BMC first covered the kabutarkhana in August 2025 after raising health concerns linked to indiscriminate pigeon-feeding. The feeding area has remained closed since then. The civic action came amid restrictions on pigeon-feeding at kabutarkhanas and other public spaces.
The restrictions also led to a confrontation at the Dadar site in August 2025. At least 500 protesters breached bamboo barricades, removed plastic netting and threw grain into the feeding area, according to the report. The incident took place even as the Bombay High Court directed the BMC to register first information reports against people violating pigeon-feeding restrictions at kabutarkhanas and other public spaces.
The latest installation therefore adds another layer to the BMC’s management of the site: preventing access and unauthorised use while retaining visibility of a recognised heritage structure. The administration has not announced any change to the existing restriction on pigeon-feeding. Monitoring of the enclosure will remain the responsibility of the civic authorities, according to the assistant municipal commissioner.
