Govt to set up 4 graveyards, a crematorium

The Dhaka City Corporation plans to establish four new graveyards on four corners of the city to meet the growing needs of burying the dead, the chief social welfare officer, Khandker Millatul Islam, told New Age.

He said that the city corporation would also establish a crematorium exclusively for the Buddhists.

They said that acquisition of land had begun for the establishment of a graveyard at Rayerbazaar.

The city corporation, they said, was looking for suitable land for establishing graveyards at Mautail and Badda.

They could not say where the fourth graveyard would be established.

They said that the crematorium for the Budhhists and the graveyard would be established side by side at Badda.

The six graveyards, Azimpur Graveyard, Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard at Mirpur, Zurain Graveyard, Banani Graveyard, Uttara Graveyard, and Muradpur Graveyard and two DCC crematoriums

at Postogola and Kamrangir Char, occupy more than 6,500 decimals or roughly 66 acres of land, they said.

The corporation's social welfare department officials said that the city has no separate crematorium for the Buddhists.

They said every day about 50 dead were buried or cremated in the capital city.

The six graveyards have about 97,000 general graves and about 19,792 reserved graves.

The city corporation, they said, partially stopped reservation of graves under a decision taken at the 13th general meeting of DCC held on July 14, 2008.

The corporation charges between Tk six to Tk 100 for burying a dead person, inclusive of the labour cost of digging a grave and the price of bamboo and chatai, depending on the body size.

The city corporation leases the graveyards to the highest bidders. But the two crematoriums are run by the city corporation itself.

The chief priest of International Buddhist Monastery in the city Dharma Mitra Mahathero said that the city did not have a crematorium for the Buddhists.

He said the Buddhists in the city were cremated at the Razarbagh crematorium for the Hindus. 

He said 'it is very necessary for us to have a crematorium exclusively for the Buddhists.'

He said, 'We will welcome it very much if the government take the initiative to establish a crematorium only for the Buddhists.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the plan of DCC to establish the graveyard at Rayerbazaar, said Millatul Islam.

Source: New Age