Crematorium for dogs, cats comes up in city

Coimbatore: The city on Tuesday got its first crematorium for dogs and cats.
The facility, which was built at a cost of ₹35 lakh in a plot belonging to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was jointly inaugurated by district collector Kranti Kumar Pati, city police commissioner V Balakrishnan and corporation commissioner M Prathap.
Built under the Namakku Naame Thittam scheme with the contributions from Rotary Club of Coimbatore Smart City, the crematorium is located adjacent to the city corporation’s dog shelter at Seeranaickenpalayam.
The collector said it would be a paid facility and the charges to cremate pet dogs and cats would be decided soon. However, stray dogs could be cremated at the facility free of cost. “Six dogs can be cremated in a day in the liquefied petroleum gas-powered facility. It will be useful for the residents, as the city has hardly any place for burying dogs. Based on its functioning and future requirements, a similar facility will be considered for rural areas,” he said.
A city corporation official said the people living in apartments and congested areas were finding it difficult to bury their dead pets. “They have been seeking corporation employees’ help to dispose of the carcasses in the absence of a crematorium. Coimbatore is only the second city after Chennai to get such a facility in Tamil Nadu.”