KMC allocates 60 acres for two new cemeteries in District West

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has allocated 60 acres for establishing two new cemeteries in the city’s West district. Managing committees are also being formed to control the graveyard mafia.

KMC Administrator Laeeq Ahmed said on Monday that welfare organisations are ready to cooperate with the municipal body for setting up model cemeteries. He said that all measures will be taken to reclaim the graveyards from the clutches of land grabbers and save the new ones from the mafia.

The administrator held a meeting with the Land Utilisation Department, during which it was decided that 60 acres will be allocated for two new graveyards at Deh Mawach Goth and Deh Mauripur in District West. A big cemetery will be established on 55 acres, while another one will be built on a piece of land measuring five acres, the meeting decided.

The administrator said that the allocated land will not be used for any other purpose, and that the local administration will facilitate the people looking to bury their loved ones. Ahmed said that a proper record will be maintained at the new graveyards, and that encroachment will not be tolerated.

He thanked Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for approving the establishment of new cemeteries on the recommendations of the Allotment & Reservation Committee. The land has been allocated under the Government Land Act of 1912.

The administrator said that the new cemeteries will meet the demand of Karachi. He said that the KMC has already decided to introduce a one-window operation for burials and relevant documentation at the graveyards under its administrative control.

He added that managing committees comprising the Chhipa Welfare Association, the Saylani Welfare Trust, the Jafaria Disaster Management Cell Welfare Organisation, the Alamgir Welfare Trust International, the Edhi Foundation and other welfare organisations are also being formed.

The administrator said that pieces of land have been allocated in District West for now, but there is a need of new graveyards in other districts as well. “Cemeteries are needed in every city, and it is responsibility of the city administration to facilitate its people.” Ahmed also appreciated the welfare organisations for cooperating with the KMC, and said that their cooperation is very important because they are well aware of the issues of the city.