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CIDCO allots plot, Navi Mumbai set to get its first animal hospital

Estimated to cost Rs 5 crore, the hospital will contain diagnostic facilities for animals round the clock.

Navi Mumbai is set to get its first animal hospital with City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) allotting a 2000 sqm plot for the hospital at Kalamboli. The hospital, to be constructed by NGO People for Animals (PFA), which won the tender, will be multi-storeyed, complete with dedicated wards for dogs, cats as well as large animals such as horses and cows.

Estimated to cost Rs 5 crore, the hospital will contain diagnostic facilities for animals round the clock, said Mumbai PFA Head Ambika Hiranandani. At present, injured or sick animals or rescued ones from Navi Mumbai are generally taken to Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (SPCA) facility at Parel or Thane, around 28 kilometres away.

“The proposed hospital will cater to all sorts of animals even large ones like cattle, besides pets. This will be the first big animal hospital in Navi Mumbai. State’s veterinary department does have small set ups for animals in Panvel district,” said Cidco’s chief health officer, Dr B Bawaskar, who could not give the figure on the estimated animal population in Navi Mumbai as “there has been no official survey”.

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According to the NGO’s plan, the hospital will cater to larger animals on the ground floor, while the sterilization centres for cats and dogs will be on the upper floors. The project is managed by a team comprising MP Poonam Mahajan, veterinarian Dr Leena Dalal and Hiranandani. “I encourage all Planning authorities, Municipal Corporations and Collectors to allocate land for an animal hospital and shelter which can be built by them or in collaboration with a NGO,” said Maneka Gandhi, Women and Child Development Minister and chairperson, PFA.

The NGO will now organise a fundraiser and have come up with a plan to request animal lovers to donate a lakh each and will be requesting other trusts to donate equipment.

Festive offer

“As there is no hospital for animals in Navi Mumbai, the injured or sick animals need to be brought in all the way to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals centres at Parel or Thane. Many of these animals don’t survive the journey. The PFA hospital will cater to all animals, pet and stray. and we want to accommodate everything from a sterilization programme to a small wildlife rescue center,” said Pritish Nandy, Founder Trustee, People for Animals.

anjali.lukose@expressindia.com

First uploaded on: 03-07-2014 at 03:11 IST
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