Animal activists in the Kharghar-Panvel belt have voiced the need for a dedicated animal hospital as well as an electric crematorium. Repeated instances of finding badly-injured animals and the delay in getting treatment prompted the activists to raise the matter with the Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
“This is one of the most neglected sectors even as there are regular instances of animals suffering due to accidents or ailments. Due to the lack of health care in city we have to travel to Mumbai. We wanted the municipal corporation to give this serious consideration. The problem is not just about stray animals, even pet owners are struggling to provide good health care and to conduct the final rites,” said Ranjana Sadolikar, a member of Citizen Unity Forum.
A meeting was convened this week between members of different Panvel-based NGOs and PCMC.
Members pointed out that a lot of problems associated with stray animals could be resolved with small efforts by the civic body. This includes provision for an animal hospital, electric crematorium and even designated spots for feeding.
“Even from the logistics point of view, the development work shouldn’t be a major hassle for PCMC as the space required for an animal crematorium is very small. Likewise, for setting up a hospital, PCMC must pursue with CIDCO to acquire plots. Setting up of feeding spots will address the recurring issues faced between animal lovers and residential societies,” said Jyoti Nadkarni, member of Kharghar Taloja Colony Welfare Association (KTCWA).
The hardships the animal lovers face while attending to cruelty towards stray animals were related by another resident from Kharghar. The death of many puppies in a residential society prompted the animal lover to seek a post-mortem of one of the dead puppies.
“We had to take the dead puppy all the way to a veterinary hospital in Parel to get the post-mortem conducted. In spite of spending so much money, time and effort, it has been more than 15 days and still there is no report. It is high time the civic body constructs an animal hospital for the Panvel region,” said the animal lover.
Vithal Dhake, joint municipal commissioner, PCMC, said that the matter has been addressed with the concerned departments. “The authority to decide upon the request is with the municipal commissioner. I have sent the file to the sanitation department, health as well as the city engineering for further process,” he said.