Loos for pets on PCMC's mind

After success of cemetery for pets, civic body's vet Satish Gore says he's proposing toilets in public places for dogs to tackle hygiene issue in Pimpri-ChinchwadEven as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is sitting over a proposal to provide public toilets for women across the city, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has reportedly gone a step further and is thinking about loos for pets in public places.Illustration/Jishu Dev MalakarThe PCMC, which seems to be quite in love with pets, earlier sanctioned a cemetery for them after a proposal by PCMC Senior Veterinarian Dr Satish Gore. And now Gore says he has spoken to the authorities about building pet toilets to keep the industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad clean.Are they Toilet trained? A couple take their pets for a walk; (inset) Dr Satish Gore, PCMC senior veterinarian, says he has spoken to authorities on the idea of building toilets for pets. Pic/Jignesh MistryThe authorities are thinking about it, said Gore.u00a0With 4,000 registered dog lovers facing problems of health and hygiene, the initiative has been welcomed. Gore's plan is to begin with a ward at Nigdi Pradhikaran or Chinchwad station first. Each pet toilet is estimated to cost Rs 50,000 and, according to the proposal, at least 12 to 15 shall be installed at various spots.Proper disposal of dog poop has become an environmental issue as the dog population is growing in the city. Our objective is to dispose of waste matter of pet dogs in public places in a proper manner and in the minimum possible time, Gore said.Electric crematoriumThe PCMC already has a cemetery for pets at Nehru Nagar. Built six years ago, over 12,000 animals are resting in peace there. Now the authorities are coming up with the idea of an electric crematorium based on the principal of medical waste incinerator. This project shall cost Rs 50 lakh, said Dr Gore. Dog toilet designA urineu00a0block is made using rough soil and fine sand. For dog excreta, special chambers covered with mesh that will be easy to use are planned. We need to avoid unwanted use for any other purpose. We also want to avoid dog fights inside the toilet compound area, as some dogs can be quite aggressive, Gore said. The importance of these toilets shall be described to citizens. Training certain dogs to make use of these places is another task we wish to begin.