Mumbai civic body to build state-of-the-art veterinary hospital, pet crematoriums

It will construct a five-storey hospital with advanced diagnostic facilities in place of the municipal veterinary dispensary in Khar

In a first, the civic body plans to provide health and welfare facilities to the city’s four-legged population. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) 2018 budget includes facilities like a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital and pet crematoriums.

This is the first time the BMC has made budgetary allocation for animal health and welfare in the city. (Representational AFP photo)

The BMC will be constructing a five-storey state-of-the-art hospital with advanced diagnostic facilities in place of the already existing municipal veterinary dispensary in Khar. This will include a lab for ‘zoonotic diseases’ or diseases that are spread between animals and humans like rabies, swine flu and bird flu.

Civic officials said that according to a 2012 survey, 40,598 families in the city have pet animals. According to the civic chief Ajoy Mehta’s budget statement on Friday, work on the hospital, which will cost about Rs1 crore, is expected to start this year.

“This is the first time Mumbai corporation has made budgetary allocation for animal health and welfare in the city,” Mehta stated.

Under the food safety provision, the BMC has set aside Rs10 crore for the modernisation of the city’s only slaughterhouse in Deonar. The abattoir will be getting new slaughtering units for cattle, resting sheds, unloading ramps for animals, a rendering plant and an effluent treatment plant.