Mumbai: Heeding to long-standing demand, BMC to set up crematorium for pets

Earlier this month, Mayor Kishori Pedenkar announced the setting up of the facility at Dahisar. “There has been a demand for an incinerator for pets for a long time. The existing facilities are private ones and their waiting period is long. This will be the first pet crematorium run by the civic body, the mayor said.

The civic body is in the process of finalising the contractor for the crematoria construction, while a bhoomi pujan is likely to be held this week, said an official. At Dahisar, one furnace will be dedicated to small animals.

Faizan Khatri, architect and founder of a non-profit organisation — The Initiative – who is designing the crematorium aims to build a sustainable structure.

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“Currently, the area has a brick-and-mortar structure. I am planning to repurpose the waste material generated from the Metro construction lines in the city as building construction material,” Khatri said.

Currently, the only options available for pet owners are private crematoria and a government-run SPCA animal hospital in Parel.

In the absence of a proper disposal system carcasses of dead animals — especially cats and dogs — are commonly seen in community garbage bins, on the streets and along railway tracks. Dead strays are taken away by the municipal garbage vans but pet owners are often confronted with the problem of disposing of the carcass of their pets, especially in the suburbs.

Though there is no official data available with authorities about the numbers of animal deaths in the city, according to a census there are over one lakh dogs in the city. However, there is no official count on cats.

The civic body is also constructing a pet crematorium in Mahalaxmi through the Corporate Social Responsibility route and the design work on the same is underway.