Siddhartha Kumar, Pune
Ahmedabad is set to have a crematorium for stray cows in the city. Their carcasses will be disposed of in a hygienic CNG furnace. The proposed crematorium to be built near the Gyaspur sewage radiation facility will be 4,000 square meters in size.
The project, led by a few BJP council members and representatives of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), seeks to find a solution to the issue of cow carcasses being dumped at a landfill in Pirana.
However, a few members have voiced their opposition, saying that it should be avoided. According to the officials, there are some difficulties with the concept.
The crematorium is expected to have a burn rate of 700 kilograms per hour, and a separate charge will be used to lift and place the animals. The capacity to cremate at least 15 carcasses per day should be supported by the furnace. It may include other bovines and stray animals. “Durning monsoon, this number may increase to 35-40 stray animals including bovines,” an AMC official said.
“The facility will be up for a cost of up to Rs. 6 croreS,” an official said.
Top officials from many agencies, including solid waste management, environment engineering, the light department, and municipal engineering, have already been consulted by M Thennarasan, the AMC commissioner, regarding the viability and practicality of the planned project.
The official added that they are unaware of a procedure like this occurring anywhere in the state on this magnitude, so they are likely to publish a request for proposals or an expression of interest in order to locate qualified partners who can run and administer the crematorium.
To study different aspects of the plan and submit the report on the same, a committee of deputy commissioners has been formed.
According to a senior AMC official, “The commissioner called for a special meeting a month ago to discuss the proposal with Dharmendra Shah, the political in charge of the AMC’s BJP body, and building committee chairman, Mahadev Desai.”