GUWAHATI, Oct 4 - Parting with your pet could be heart-breaking, more so when you cannot give it a dignified farewell.
However, in a welcome move, dog lovers would soon be able to bid their pet a dignified farewell, with the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) now planning to have a first-ever dedicated cremation-cum-burial ground for man�s best friend.
At present, Guwahati or for that matter the entire North East, does not have a scientific way of disposal of pets.
The proposed funeral home is likely to come up somewhere at Boragaon with facilities for eco-friendly last rites.
The need for such a ground was long felt in view of the growing number of pets Guwahatians are raising. However, absence of any dedicated cremation or burial ground had not only left the animal lovers hapless and dejected, but haphazard dumping and disposal of animals has also emerged as an environmental hazard.
GMC Commissioner Monalisa Goswami, when contacted by this correspondent, confirmed the development and informed that the modality for setting up a dedicated place for cremation and burial of canines is being chalked out.
It has not been decided whether it will be an electrical crematorium or a CNG-based incinerator.
�The Corporation will charge a reasonable fee from the pet owners so that the ground remains self-sustainable. However, for stray dogs, it would be free of cost,� she said.
Goswami also stated that the Corporation has started registration of pet dogs, which will help in streamlining the affairs.
Founder of Just Be Friendly (JBF), an NGO working in this field, Dr Sasanka Shekhar Dutta opined that with the pet population increasing like never before in Guwahati and elsewhere, it is high time that we had a dedicated place to pay them the last respect.
�Besides, even for stray animals, this could come in very handy. Today, despite some dog deaths taking place on the roads, there is no place to bury them,� Dr Dutta said.
�The situation is even more compelling for residents of apartments who do not have any space to bury their pets. I had to move from pillar to post when our pet died. Finding no other way, I had to bury it in a sand bar,� said a Guwahati-based animal lover.