CHENNAI: There may be some apprehensions about feeding of pigeons, whether it is right or wrong. But, pigeon feeding is not only a passion but also a mission for a Jain in Chennai who has been involved in this for past over two decades and what happened on the terrace of his office building here on April 21st 2023 brings out some reasons behind this.
Mr.N.Sugalchand Jain, Founder Trustee of Singhvi Charitable Trust, was flying high with enthusiasm when he took part in the pigeon feeding activity at the terrace of Singhvi Scan & Diagnostic Centre in Triplicane in Chennai on April 21st 2023.
“Feeding and offering water to pigeons not only has an astrological significance but also a noble cause. In Indian culture, special significance is give to feeding the needy and deprived, feeding of animals and birds also in our religious scriptures. It not only adds to our good ‘Karma’, but is also a noble thing if we feed. Avian life is impacted due to cutting down of trees, dumping of garbage in plastic bags an covers gives no food source to pigeons etc. So, the pigeon population is on the decline,” says Mr.N.Sugalchand Jain, a well-known philanthropist and industrialist in Chennai, who sees a strong purpose in pigeon feeding.
FIVE BAGS OF WHEAT EVERYDAY:
The passion and mission of Mr.Sugalchand Jain towards pigeon feeding is so high that the Singhvi Charitable Trust, of which he is the founder trustee, feeds around 10,000 pigeons everyday in the open terrace of Singhvi Scan and Diagnostic Centre at Triplicane in Chennai, for the past 22 years, by spreading 250 kgs of wheat (which is five bags) in the morning on the terrace.
“This feeding of the birds was uninterrupted even during the COVID-19 outbreak and the Singhvi Charitable Trust has so far spent over Rs.2.11 crores to feed the birds,” says a press release given about pigeon feeding done on 21st April 2023.
It was also explained that pigeon feeding and birds feeding is very common Rajasthan villages where villagers make sure that they spread grains, wheat, millets and maize throughout the year. “My village called Siyat in Rajasthan has a big platform for spreading the grains, near temple. In olden days, patients suffering from paralysis and diseases used to sit near that platform and used to get cured. But, now-a-days, doctors and environmentalists say that pigeon excreta spreads diseases. I see pigeon feeding across the globe, it is a age old tradition, pigeon is a vegetarian bard and it does not eat inspects. Pigeon eats only good grains. Once upon a time, it was a medium of communication. I do not know what there is a discouragement of pigeon feeding these days. It may spoil the building roof, but it will improve oxygen level and help our environment,” philanthropist Mr.Sugalchand Jain says in the press release.
