| Residents of the Alberttown area have, over the past few weeks, been living in fear of the outbreak of fire stemming from the droves of pigeons which alight on the utility wires near the junctions of Light and First Streets, Alberttown.Hundreds of pigeons flock to the area three times a day to partake in the meal which is provided to them by a woman who lives in the area. According to reports from her neighbours, hundreds of pigeons alight on the utility wires, three times a day, when feeding time draws near.This car is covered with bird droppings. The woman is said to feed the birds at around 5:30 hours, then again in the afternoon and again in the evening.Despite complaints from residents, the woman has continued to feed these birds, and the residents have even sought police assistance to make the woman desist from feeding the birds.When Kaieteur News visited the area, there were just a few pigeons sitting atop the utility wires, but persons from the environs insisted that the birds came around in droves when it was closer to feeding time.Residents of the area say that the total weight of the birds places an unnecessary strain on the cables. It is feared that the combined weight of the birds will prove too much for the utility cables and will result in an electrical fire.“I just don’t think the cables can take all of that weight,” said another neighbour, as he added that several formal complaints had already been made to the police who had come by before and had told the old lady to stop feeding the birds.A source within the Guyana Fire Service explained that if, due to the large number of birds perched on the wire, the wires were to come into contact with each other, it may result in a short circuit and a fire may ensue.It is uncertain whether the woman is breaking any laws by feeding the pigeons, but reports made to the Alberttown Police Station, by a Cuban doctor who lives in the area, Dr Agueda Surrey, were reportedly treated as a humorous episode by police ranks but they eventually issued a warning to the woman feeding the birds.Before the police had come by and warned the lady, she would feed the pigeons on her bridge, but afterwards she took to feeding them in her yard.Sometimes she continued to throw rice outside of her house, saying that she was leaving rice outside for the dogs.Previously, there was apparently another woman who would also feed the birds, but after her neighbours raised their concerns about the birds and asked her to stop feeding the birds, she complied.Apart from the potential fire risk caused by the birds, there is the question of themes they leave behind.Surrey said that her car is always covered with pigeon droppings. She has also raised concern over the eventual damage her car will sustain, after being exposed to the acidic content of the bird droppings. |
