MANSEHRA: As the space to bury the dead in the graveyards in the Mansehra city and its suburbs is fast shrinking, the people have demanded of the federal and provincial governments to acquire land for the purpose.

The two historic graveyards in the city -- Kua Walli Ziarat and Mohallah Dub graveyard – are almost full to their capacity, and according to locals, they had to dig old graves to bury their dead. The people said the city’s population was now over 0.5 million, and thus more space was needed for the graveyards. “When people dug an old grave in one of the historic graveyards in the city, skull bones emerged, but people had no choice but to bury a body there,” said a local man on condition of anonymity.

Besides, there are other graveyards in the urban area, but these places are managed by committees comprising local elders, who do not allow outsiders to use them for burial of their relatives. “On occasions bodies were taken for burial in these graveyards, but the committees stopped them from doing so,” said a local resident.

In Mohallah Channia, as a committee has been managing the local graveyard, no outsider is allowed to lower their dead in the graves. “Our committee has also purchased a small piece of land on the bank of a local stream though contributions by residents as existing graveyard is almost full to its capacity,” Mohammad Ajmal, a local resident, said.

He said it was responsibility of the government to acquire land for graveyards. “I have even come to know that owing to non-availability of space people take bodies of their relatives to Abbottabad,” he said.

Another resident, Mohammad Saddaqat said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had announced Rs200 million to acquire land for graveyards in the city, but that money was yet to be released.

When contacted, Sardar Said Ghulam, the district nazim, told Dawn that the announced funds had been released, but the modalities regarding how to utilise it had yet to be finalised.

“We are still to decide whether the amount would be utilised through local lawmakers, Mansehra tehsil administration or the district government,” said Mr Ghulam.

The district nazim said his government was also striving to address the issue. He said if he was given the task to utilise the funds for acquiring the land for graveyards he would evolve an across the board strategy.

Published in Dawn September 20th, 2016