Safety kits provided to gravediggers: Wasim Akhtar

Karachi mayor says all graveyards will be kept closed for Shab-e-Barat, no stalls to be set up outside

KARACHI: Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar said on Wednesday that the gravediggers at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's (KMC) graveyards have been provided with protective suits to stay safe against coronavirus during the process of burials.

Handing over the suits and other protective equipment to KMC graveyards in-charge Iqbal Parvez, the mayor said that all graveyards would be kept closed for Shab-e-Barat and no stalls could be set up outside them, in order to stop people from gathering at a single spot amid the ongoing pandemic.



Thanking the people for cooperating with the graveyard administrations by not visiting them on Shab-e-Barat, he appealed to the citizens to pray, especially for the end of this difficult time and stay at home.

"I believe that we will return to normalcy if the people keep cooperating with the government," said Akhtar, adding that citizens should not lose hope as the current situation was a test from the Almighty and He would rescue them.

He directed Parvez to continue with burials and cooperate with the citizens, further ordering him to allow only the close relatives of the deceased to attend the burials.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2020.