Burial costs force families to look for donations

Median cost of coffin, funeral service and other hidden costs become excruciating for bereaved families

RAWALPINDI:

As the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are fast running out of space in graveyards because of the rising number of deaths triggered by the growing population and various viral and other diseases including the coronavirus and dengue, the exorbitant costs of burial have forced poor families to collect donations for burying their loved ones.

The median cost for a funeral, including a coffin, funeral service, transfer of the remains and hidden costs of burials, have almost become unbearable for the poor families. The burial costs can scare the life out of anyone who is not prepared for the final bill when a loved one passes away. On average, burial costs Rs16,000 to Rs2,0000 in Islamabad while in Rawalpindi, it costs between Rs35,000 to Rs40,000.

Though city administrations have put up rates outside several graveyards, they were hardly followed when it comes to the burial as diggers, bus service providers, and sellers charge their own rates for the service they provide.

Rawalpindi has 58 graveyards and Islamabad has 31 and almost all of them have gone out of space.

Most cemeteries in the garrison city are centuries-old, where one has to struggle to find a space for the burial of loved ones.

Read New graveyard in the offing for capital

In the H-11 graveyard of Islamabad, Rs300 is charged for digging a grave for adults, Rs200 for children, Rs1000 for bus service at a rate of Rs4 per kilometre, Rs3,300 for a shroud, Rs 7,500 for placement of bricks on the grave and other related paraphernalia such as rose petals, joss sticks cost around Rs3,000.

The burial of a loved one accumulatively costs Rs16,000 to Rs20,000 in Islamabad, while Rs35,000 to Rs40,000 in Rawalpindi for the bereaved family.

Haji Iqbal, the administration committee member of Kurri Road graveyard in Rawalpindi, told The Express Tribune that the cemetery has been filled to the brink and it has no space left for more burials. He said that they have to send bereaved families to bury their loved ones in other graveyards out of the city.

It was observed during a survey that cemeteries on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, including Gujjar Khan, Taxila, Murree, Kotli Sattiyan, Kahuta, Mandra, and that of Islamabad, including Sihala, Barakahu, Jhangi Syedan, and Tarnol were mostly empty.

Locals of these rural areas are ready to donate their lands for graveyards, schools, mosques, or dispensaries, but the administrations have failed to approach them to secure lands for graveyards.

The citizens, including Haji Ibrahim, Sohail Shehzad, and Sharif Qureshi, said that the funeral arrangements should be made free of cost by the government for the poor families and there should be a cell in every union council office for this purpose.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2021.