Ahmedabad to have a crematorium for cows

Soon, stray cows in the city will have a crematorium of their own where they will receive a dignified farewell with their carcasses disposed of in a clean and efficient CNG furnace.

The project, spearheaded by a handful of BJP councillors and officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), aims to address the problem of disposing of dead cows which, at present, end up in a landfill at Pirana.

The civic body's novel proposal for a crematorium for cows has also sparked a debate among officials, with a section of them opining that it should be avoided.

The crematorium is being planned near the Gyaspur sewage radiation plant and will be spread across 4,000 square metres.

M Thennarasan, AMC commissioner, has already sought opinion of top officials from different departments like solid waste management, environment engineering, light department, and city engineering on the feasibility and viability of the proposed project.

It was argued that the capacity of the furnace must be large enough to cremate 15 carcasses per day, which may include those of other bovines and stray animals.

The official also said that they are not aware of such a practice elsewhere in the state on such a scale, so they are likely to issue an expression of interest (EOI) or request for proposal (RFP) to find eligible partners who can operate and manage the crematorium.

A committee of deputy commissioners has been formed to study various aspects of the plan and submit a report.