After public toilets, BMC to now focus on cemeteries

After speeding up the process of construction of toilets in the city, municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta has now asked his officials to focus on maintenance of cemeteries around the city.

Speaking to The Asian Age, Mr Mehta said, “For the first time, we have begun to take the maintenance of cemeteries seriously. It is sad that they are not maintained, as they are not owned by anybody. After I started visiting cemeteries to take stock of their state, everybody has realised that they are not something to be shunned.”

In the first phase, the he Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) worked intensively on increasing the number of public toilets in the city. The second phase will see upgradation and renovation of cemeteries.

The BMC has divided the work on cemeteries into two parts. One part of the work will be carried out by the central agencies. This mainly involves major works such as conversion of pyres to piped natural gas (PNG) and building new pyres. The second part of the works will remain with the BMC and will be looked after at the ward level. This involves minor work such as maintenance of lawns, minor repairs to the shed where funeral pyres are lit, maintenance of graves, and maintenance of the prayer halls, and cleaning the area after a funeral.

Meanwhile, work with central agencies has already begun. It has been delayed in some places which require exclusive clearances, for example a cemetery in Juhu is right beside the sea and requires coastal regulation zone clearances.