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For Your Pets Only

Asia’s first electric crematorium for animals comes as a boon

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For Your Pets Only
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EVERY morning, people throng the Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals at Parel in central Mumbai to give their deceased pets a decent farewell. The Godrej group-sponsored electric crematorium is the first non-polluting one of its kind in Asia— and it puts away animals "with love, care and dignity".

Naval Godrej ’s pet project was inspired by the death of a four-footed friend. Says his wife S.N. Godrej: "We have had Airedales, Dobermans, Alsatians but Tuka was our last pet because we realised that in this city, it was not possible to give a pet a comfortable life. And after Tuka’s death, my husband was moved towards doing something for animals."

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In 1983, his yellow Labrador, Tuka, was cremated in a dilapidated incinerator at the Bombay Veterinary College. Under unacceptable conditions, a sight that haunted Naval. "My husband felt that things should not work this way. We are animal lovers but had never done anything for them on a large-scale. It took us a while to build it, but my husband directed the project because he felt it was an issue that had to be tackled," she reminisces .

The electric crematorium which took more than 12 years in the making— the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board dithered in clearing the project — was finally inaugurated on January 22. The first pet to be cremated was Pasha— alhasa belonging to industrialist Keshub Mahindra. Set up at a cost of Rs 23 lakh, the project was largely funded by the Godrej family with substantial donations from K.R. Pandit and H.N. Daruwala. Unlike in the past, where wood and kerosene were used to cremate pets in a partially enclosed structure— thus polluting the air— this crematorium has a scrubberwith water circulation and a 100 ft high chimney to eliminate polluting gases. The electric oven can handle up to 10 animals such as dogs, cats, goats and calves a day. The entire process, at temperatures above 500 degrees Centigrade, takes no more than 45 minutes. A slot at the bottom allows for the collection of ashes, if required, which is handed over to the owner the next day in an earthen pot decorated with flowers.

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"The crematorium eliminated the problem of looking for a plot to bury our dog. Burning dead pets with wood is unhygienic and messy whereas this system is both clean and fast," says Meher Pinto. The Pintos who cremated their pet dog, two-and-a-half-year-old Jewels, requested the ashes from the crematorium authorities which they then immersed in the sea.

The electric crematorium is also equipped with a waiting room and a raised podium alongside if the owners choose to perform the last rites. Says V.H. Doshi, a businessman from suburban Chembur, who cremated his pet Pomeranian Raja after perf o rming the last rites at home: "It feels good to know that our pet has gone peacefully and has been given a farewell fit for a human being. Also, since we are Jains, it is a matter of deep satisfaction to know that the system is not hazardous to the environment around."

"This way one even avoids cruelty to dead animals," says Colonel A.R. Nageshkar, secretary, Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "The crematorium has ensured that the same rights will be granted, free of charge, to stray animals. Earlier, stray animals w e re handed over to the Kora Kendra of Khadi Gramodyog to be disposed of beyond city limits."

For the other animals, the charges for cremation dep-end on their size— Rs 550 for Great Danes, Dobermans, Alsatians and St Bernards ; Rs 450 for Dalmatians, Pomeranians and Spitz and Rs 350 for Lhasa Apso, cats and small Pomeranians. "The rates are the same as in the earlier system," says Col Nageshkar.

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"We have to wait for the first bill to decide how much to charge pet-owners in future. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport is constructing a sub-station to supply power to the crematorium and we are trying to get an exemption for electrical rates and thus reduce our cost," adds Col Nageshkar.

Naval Godrej’s dream has been realised— though he is no longer around to see its fulfillment. But it was because he was deeply disturbed when his pet died, that other animal lovers will see their own rest in peace.

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