India, Oct. 4 -- For someone interested in wild birds, an addition to the checklist would be welcome. But if the chirping checklist is from the glitzy domestic terminal for outgoing passengers at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, then it does not invite delight. Along with common pigeons and mynas, I witnessed a pair of intrusive red-vented bulbuls familiarising themselves within the terminal premises reserved for waiting passengers who have cleared security checks. The bulbul is a new one on my departure terminal checklist! Apart from birds intruding into the terminal's eating outlets, pecking into plates and spreading excreta, there is the fatal health hazard to humans in the guise of 'pigeon lung', a form of hypersensitivity pneumonitis caused by the dry dust of feathers/droppings. Equally at fault are passengers who wantonly discard tidbits for birds. No advisory/warning boards have been put up to deter passengers from feeding birds. The hapless cleaning staff at the terminal literally break their backs as it is an arduous task to clean the shiny floors of sticky bird droppings. A big bird trap has been positioned but is not 100% successful. The airport has been functional for 16 years and it begs the question: Why has the presence of birds not been removed? What measures have been taken to eliminate the hazard? Are airport authorities aware of 'pigeon lung' disease? I contacted the office of Chandigarh International Airport Ltd (CHIAL) CEO Yogesh Nagaich, which directed me to the media relations officer, Nimit Sharma. On Sharma's advice, I emailed the above questions to the airport manager (with a copy to the CEO) on September 16, 2026. However, no written response has been given to the questions by CHIAL. All that was offered by way of an assurance was a cellphone call from Sharma on September 17, 2026, wherein he verbally assured this writer that "within a week we will have improved the situation as far as bird presence in the domestic terminal is concerned."...