KARACHI: In addition to establish a new graveyard in district Keamari, Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Monday promised that the condition of existing cemeteries in the metropolis would be improved and their boundary walls would be constructed.

He said this while presiding over a meeting to review the current situation of cemeteries in the city.

Currently, there is no more land available for burial in almost all major graveyards in the metropolis. Six of the total 39 graveyards under the administrative control of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had been closed for burial, leading to a steep surge in burial ground prices across the city.

The cemeteries closed for burial are Tariq Road Graveyard, Yasinabad Graveyard, Model Colony Graveyard, Azeempura Graveyard, Paposh Nagar Graveyard and Colony Gate Graveyard, where no more burial ground is available.

The repurposing of the graves has become rampant in the city’s graveyards, including those closed, as the city’s death rate was stated to be around 0.33 per cent of the total population per annum.

Says new graveyard is being established in Keamari district on 200 acres

On Monday, Barrister Wahab was informed that the preliminary work on the establishment of the new graveyard on 200 acres in district Keamari had been started to meet the requirement of the city. The construction work of the model graveyard would be started soon, he was told.

The mayor said that the new cemetery would meet the needs of the people of Keamari and other adjacent districts. “All the facilities would be provided for burial here,” he said.

Barrister Wahab said that it was the need of hour to establish new cemeteries with the increase in the population and the establishment of new settlements in the city.

About the existing cemeteries, he said: “Provision of water and lighting arrangements will be made there to facilitate citizens.”

He said that it was also necessary to make the surrounding areas better and cleaner to improve the internal conditions of the cemeteries, especially on the occasion of Shab-i-Barat and Eids when a large number of citizens visit the graves of their loved ones.

“It is also necessary to make the roads leading to the graveyards better and brighter,” he said and added that every possible effort would be made to provide maximum facilities to the citizens in this regard.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2023