The city’s first pet crematorium has been completed. And it was done so in record time, 15 months, at the cost of Rs2.35 crore. The crematorium is near Sumanahalli on Magadi Road.
The crematorium will begin operations in November and makes Bangalore the third city in the country, after New Delhi and Mumbai, to have a crematorium for pets. Official said, “The crematorium has two incinerators, one for small pets like cats and dogs and a bigger one for large livestock. For the religiously inclined, the crematorium will offer a facility for rituals to be done to dispose of a pet’s ashes.”

Per day, up to 20 animals can be cremated. Veterinary doctors will be stationed at the facility to conduct post-mortem on animals that die due to disease. The BBMP is yet to work out cremation costs but its officials say the fee would be less than what some private operators are charging.

According to sources, the cost would be less than Rs1,000, an official said.
BBMP commissioner M Lakshminarayana said, “The construction of a pet crematorium was undertaken after the High Court issued orders to the BBMP stating that it is an obligatory duty of the civic agency to treat dead animals in a proper manner. Keeping in mind the High Court’s direction we took up construction work and within due time the project has been completed.”

The genesis of the crematorium is found in a PIL filed in the High Court of Karnataka. The court had in 2008 ordered that the BBMP should come up with a crematorium for animals. Five years later, work has begun.

Four years ago, BBMP proposed a crematorium on a five-acre plot in Medi Agrahara, Yelahanka. But the project didn’t take off as the civic body failed to create an alternative road to the crematorium. However, the crematorium site at Sumanahalli is well connected.

Bangalore is already home to South India’s first pet cemetery. Run by People for Animals, it is located on a half-acre plot near Kengeri. However, as with cemeteries for humans, the need for more land prevents the establishment of new cemeteries.

Crematoriums for pets have an advantage over pet cemeteries in that they do not require more land over time. They also are preferred by many communities in Karnataka that cremate their dead and would also prefer to dispose of their pets similarly.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror /  Home> Bangalore> Civic / by Atul Chaturvedi,  Bangalore Mirror Bureau / October 22nd, 2014