CHENNAI: In what could come as a relief to pet owners in the city, a dedicated crematorium for dogs and small animals has been inaugurated at the Blue Cross of India premises on Velachery Main Road.
The dual chambered gasifier crematorium will not only be open to dogs at Blue Cross but pet owners across the city who can cremate their pets here for a fee of Rs 2,500. The crematorium was inaugurated by Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi along with L Ganesh, Chairman of Chennai Willingdon Corporate Foundation (CWCF) on Saturday.
Speaking at the inauguration, Bedi said, “I’ve known people who love their pets like their children. Once they lose their lives, they would like to cremate or bury them with respect. This initiative will help with that.” Bedi said the city corporation also has plans to open a dedicated crematorium for small animals in either Kannamapettai or Tondiarpet. He added that the civic body was open to improve their methods and techniques with respect to animal birth control so as to not impact animal health. In the last year, the city corporation had performed birth control surgeries in over 10,000 dogs.
The crematorium, built at a total cost of around Rs 50 lakh, was sponsored by the CWCF. Rohini Ramesh, vice-president of CWCF said pet owners in the city, especially in apartments, have been struggling to find space to bury their dead pets. The idea of an animal crematorium was conceived by N Sankar, former chairman of CWCF and chairman of the Sanmar group.
The furnace has been supplied by Essco Furnaces Private Limited. Speaking to TNIE, its managing director Manoj Murali said, “The incinerator is tailor-made to suit the requirements of Blue Cross where they can even accommodate up to eight dogs at a time. The smoke from the process undergoes a five-step treatment process to make it more environment-friendly and reduce the smell usually associated with it.” For around 100 kg, the process takes around two hours.
Blue Cross accommodates around 1,800 sick and injured animals. For the cremation process, a stretcher is available at the entrance to wheel the pets inside and pet owners may be provided with an urn to carry their ashes on request.