State of cemeteries stops residents respecting their dead
The state of the city’s cemeteries is preventing residents from paying their respects to their loved ones whose remains lie there.
“You cannot go there”, are the strong words of caution from many Pietermaritzburg residents who, due to the appalling state and lack of security at the cemeteries, have stopped visiting the resting places of their loved ones.
On a recent visit to some of the city’s cemeteries, Capital Newspapers found the sites in a deplorable state with overgrown grass, broken tombstones, overflowing dustbins, destroyed guard houses, broken fencing, torn off palisade fencing, fallen over trees, pothole roads and non-functioning crematoriums.
Along with the poor state of the cemetery, a viral image of employees sleeping and sitting on the graves that circulated earlier this week, left residents reeling with questions over the respect for their loved ones who are buried there.
At Mountain Rise Cemetery, it was found the site has also become a thoroughfare for vehicles and commuters, leaving those who visit their loved ones susceptible to becoming a victim of crime.
A resident, Pragasen Pillay, said it is a crying shame that the cemetery has been left in a heart-breaking state. “It’s hard to even find the graves of loved ones at the cemetery,” Pillay said.
Another resident, Sarika Burath, also feared her loved one’s grave cannot be found, due to the state of the cemetery.
“Everything is dilapidated. There is no respect for our loved ones. It is like the municipality just does not care for their dignity,” said Burath.
Lynette Peters said she is afraid of visiting the cemetery due to the crimes that occur there.
“My mother is buried there but I have not been there in years because of the state the cemetery is in. We feel hurt by the state it has been left to deteriorate into,” said Peters.
Advocate Ranjiv Nirghin of the Msunduzi Crematorium Cemeteries Concerned Citizens Committee (MCCCCC) said that it would be in the public interest to have the grass cut more frequently and the internal roads and roads repaired so that graves can be easily accessed by families.
“Currently, there is one functioning crematorium at Mountain Rise. There have been some days where the crematorium has been unavailable due to the lack of gas. A three-year gas supply tender is in the process of being finalised and should ensure that there is always sufficient gas to have the crematorium available on a daily basis before the end of February 2023,” said Nirghin.
Another concern is the shortage and overcrowding of grave sites in Willowfountain, Azalea and Snathing. Residents have raised concerns that they will soon be prevented from burying their loved ones with dignity.
They fear that soon, cremation will be the only option. The dilemma is that cremation is not compatible with many residents’ cultural beliefs in these areas.
Residents have also raised concerns over the increase in the loss of grave numbers, which poses great threats to affected families.
Ntombikayise Ndlovu, a 43-yearold resident in Willowfountain told Capital Newspapers that both her parents are buried in Willowfountain graveyard, but she cannot find their graves due to overcrowding.
"I wish that I knew better, because I would have buried them in home grounds. Each day, I suffer from regret. The municipality does not show any sympathy for my situation”.
Msunduzi spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize apologised to the communities for the inconveniences caused by the challenges at the cemeteries.
On the state of Mountain Rise cemetery Mkhize said there are only two functioning crematoriums, due to damages caused by last year’s heavy rains.
“We have also developed a plan to attend to all the issues raised by the residents. We are currently waiting for the equipment from heavy grass cutters and are in the process of concluding the supply chain management process to lease crematorium B service."
She added that the road to the cemetery and guard house's will be rehabilitated and gates and fencing will be implemented soon.
With regards to the Snathing cemetery, Mkhize said it has been in existence since the 1950’s, but the running of the cemetery was only handed over to Msunduzi Municipality in 1999, without any records of the graves that were already existing.
“In line with the municipality’s vision 2040 of a smart city, we have an electronic record-keeping system, which has been introduced to store burial information.
“The system will give easy access to burial records and aims to improve our service delivery. We appeal to families of Snathing to work with us to help track the records of the 1950’s to 1998, which is before the cemetery was handed to the municipality,” she said.
Mkhize added that the grave numbers of Azalea cemetery are made available upon the request of family members.
The Willowfountain Cemetery, she said, was not under the municipality’s administration, however, there is cooperation between the municipality and the community of Willowfountain regarding the digging of burial pits.