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DCC sits on plan to develop four new graveyards

Sultana Rahman
The plan to-develop four new graveyards in the city has been gathering dust atthe Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) for long as it is yet to be placed before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for approval.
The five existing graveyards, meanwhile, are rapidly being filled up with little space left for burial. The poor and middle class people find it difficultto get a space but influential people continue to build permanent graves violatingrules.
The Azimpur, Jurain, Mirpur, Banani and Uttara graveyards with a total area of 100 acres accommodate 25,000 bodies a year. The graveyards where setting up of permanent graves is prohibited are supposed to be prepared for reuse every two years.
"Although there is a timeframe, we cannotmaintainit.We have to prepare the burial grounds before schedule to cope with tire huge demand," said a caretaker at Azimpur graveyard. "Sometimes we are compelled to prepare it within six months."
DCC sources said more than a hundred bodies are buried a day in the five graveyards. Besides, the corporation receives at least 10 applications a day for permanent grave.
The oldest graveyard at Azimpur is already full while the expensive burial spaces at Banani graveyard have already been booked. The Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard is reserved for the privileged class.
The Jurain graveyard in Old
Dhaka has been expanded to accommodate more bodies while the one in Uttara is reserved for the Uttara residents only.
Residents fear they will soon face a serious crisis of burial spaces as the DCC is yet to set up new graveyards to meet the
•growingdemand.
"Everyone wants to have a permanent grave for their near and dear ones with their names inscribed in tombstone," said Shamzzaman who was requesting the DCC officials to get a permanent grave at Mirpur graveyard for his departed
mother.
"I don't care about money, 1 need a permanent space so that my future generation can recognise the grave of their grandmother and pray for her," he added.
The Azimpur graveyard with a space of 17.5 acres receives 30
to 35 bodies a day. The Mirpur and Jurain graveyards having a total of 75.1 acres land receive 15 to 20 bodies each. The half-an-acre Uttara graveyard receives 5 to 6 bodies a day.
"The number of deaths is so high that we have to destroy new graves for reuse," said a DCC social welfare department official on condition of anonymity.
The Jurain and Banani graveyards had some spaces for permanent graves only four months ago, but now it has been prohibited. The charge for a burial space too high - Tk 25,000 at Jurain andTk 60,000 at Banani.
"It is the responsibility of the city corporation to develop a large graveyard in the city with enough space for burial," Shamsuzzaman said.
To cope with the growing demand, the DCC had chalked g out a Tk 142.06 crore plan for § developing four new graveyards K in the city, which got pre-Ecnec approval on October 23, 2003. Hie proposed graveyards would ha ve space for 130,000 graves.
Nurul Alam, social welfare officer of the DCC, said the new graveyards at Rayerbazar, Badda, Jatrabari and Ashulia would meet the demand for graves in the next 25 years. "We don't understand why the proposal is not placed forthe Ecnec approval."