North Karnataka Gets First Pet Cremation Units Via Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation

Hubballi: Hubballi-Dharwad is about to launch the first cremation units for pets in North Karnataka. The Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) planned the facility after residents of the twin cities voiced their demand for a dedicated pet crematorium facility. 

Earlier, pets who had passed on were taken to dumping grounds, which caused trouble and drew attention to the need for such premises. According to the HDMC, they receive numerous complaints regarding deceased animals daily, due to which the two units were planned and will soon be operational. 

According to sources, the HDMC receives 3 or 4 complaints about dead animals each day; they received a total of 1,336 complaints in a year, with 936 from Hubballi and 430 from Dharwad. As of now, there are no facilities for cremating or burying pets in the twin cities, which forces pet parents to either bury their pets in backyards or hand them over to the HDMC. Many people have contacted the HDMC’s control room, expressing the need for a pet cremation unit. 

Vijay Kumar, HDMC's Executive Engineer, said that HDMC operates two Carcass Animal Transport (CAT) vehicles to transport the carcasses of dead animals to designated units in the dump yards at Hubballi and Dharwad. The team receives public complaints in the morning and transports carcasses from mid-afternoon until late at night, he said.

Cremation units are being set up in both the twin cities, one each in Hubballi and Dharwad. The waste disposal plant on Karwar Road in Hubballi and the Hosyallapur Waste Disposal Plant in Dharwad will soon be ready; residents may contact the HDMC control room if they wish to conduct their pet’s last rites.