Mayor asks people to follow burial protocols

KARACHI: Requesting people to cooperate with graveyard staff and follow the specific burial protocols for coronavirus victims, Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar appealed to them not to insist on burying them at their desired locations but instead at the separate places reserved for them.

In a meeting at Frere Hall on Wednesday, he stressed the need for people to stay at home and adopt precautionary measures.

Akhtar further claimed that the burial of coronavirus victims was carried out in an organised manner. “When a coronavirus patient dies at any hospital, their data is shared with the district administration, police, and other agencies and then the body is buried in the graveyards reserved for such patients,” he explained.

Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) graveyards in-charge Iqbal Parvez apprised the meeting that there were a total of 208 graveyards in the city, of which 41 belonged to the KMC, 89 to different parties and communities, while the rest belong to various organisations.

Many of the city’s graveyards had already been filled to capacity and were closed for burials, he added, saying that the KMC had opened two new graveyards, where coronavirus victims were being buried, and the graveyard staff was provided safety equipment.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2020.