Kolkata: The Animal Resource Development department is planning to launch an app-based ambulance, fitted with an operation theatre for dogs and other pets.
This is for the first time that an ambulance would be introduced for pets in the city. According to the initial plans, an 11-seater ambulance would be operated on the basis of a mobile application.
Apart from an operation theatre, there will be doctors and nurses in the ambulance. There will also be adequate arrangement of oxygen and blood inside the ambulance.
The state Animal Welfare Board is the nodal agency which will carry out the project. Animal Resource Department has received a proposal in this regard. The air-conditioned ambulance will be stationed at the CSPCA Animal Hospital on B B Ganguly Street round the clock. According Dr S Shil, Superintendent of CSPCA, the ambulance will have all the facilities so that the critical surgeries can be performed on pets, including street dogs, inside the ambulance. People can contact the CSPCA if they require the ambulance or they can also book the ambulance through a mobile application.
A campaign would be carried out jointly by the Animal Resource department and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to make people aware about the initiative. The ambulance facility will be available within KMC limits.
In case a street dog is injured and it requires surgery, the ambulance will reach the place where the doctors will perform the surgery on the injured dog in the ambulance.
It has been seen quite often that street dogs are critically injured and they remain on the city's streets untreated. This often leads to their death.
The new initiative will be able to address the issue, believe officials of the state Animal Welfare Board. Domestic pets requiring surgery may be operated on in this ambulance.
According to Dr Shil, the ambulance service would initially be available till 10 pm and the full-fledged operation would be started within a few months from its inception. Doctors and nurses will soon be recruited for the ambulance.
Treatment can be provided more quickly to animals which often become the victims of cruelty, once the ambulance starts functioning. The civic authorities and various other NGOs working for the welfare of the animals can also book the ambulance if there is a requirement.