MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will shortly construct a 2,500-square-foot animal cremation in Dahisar. The cremation at Dahisar will be free of charge to pet owners, satisfying a long-standing demand. Before accessing the facility for stray animals, the involved NGOs will have to certify the death. The move is intended specifically towards pets who die as a result of a sickness.
Kishori Pedenkar, Mayor, Dahisar hailed the facility’s opening earlier this month. “For a long time, there has been a demand for a pet incinerator. The existing facilities are private, and there is a large waiting list. According to the mayor, this will be the city’s first pet incinerator. According to an official, the civic council is in the process of selecting a contractor for the crematoria’s construction, and a bhoomi pujan is expected to take place this week. One of the furnaces in Dahisar will be dedicated to small animals.
Faizan Khatri, Architect and Founder, The Initiative, a non-profit organisation that is developing the crematorium, wants to create a long-lasting structure. “A brick-and-mortar structure now exists in the location. I intend to repurpose the rubbish generated during the construction of the city’s metro lines as building construction material,” Khatri stated. Private crematoria and a government-run SPCA animal hospital in Parel are now the only options for pet owners. Dead animals, particularly cats and dogs, are frequently found in community waste bins, on the streets, and along railway tracks in the absence of an appropriate disposal system. The municipal garbage vans pick up dead strays but pet owners, especially in the suburbs, are frequently faced with the dilemma of disposing of their pets’ carcasses.
Despite the fact that there is no official statistics on the number of animal deaths in the city, a census shows that there are over one lakh dogs in the city. Cats, on the other hand, are not officially counted.