News / Local
Bulawayo running out of burial space, encourages cremations
21 Jan 2012 at 12:25hrs | Views
BULAWAYO â€" Council is encouraging residents to consider cremating their departed relatives as the city is fast running out of burial space.
The call for cremations comes amid revelations the city's two major cemeteries, West Park and Hyde Park, had filled up.
At the forefront of the campaign is mayor, Thaba Moyo who also indicated that residents should not panic as the city has identified a piece of virgin land near Pumula, which it plans to turn into a burial site. It's quite a large piece andHe said the piece of land should last the city up to 50 years.
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) recently made available an additional 300 hectares of land for burial at Luveve Extension Cemetery to reduce congestion at West Park. The central location of West Park cemetery is the major reason behind its quick shortage of burial space, as city residents favour the site to bury their relatives.
In December alone, the city had 435 burials, a slight decline from the 506 burials recorded the previous month in November.
Cremation is often viewed with suspicion in most African cultures and Zimbabwe's largely conservative society has also frowned upon it.
This has resulted in many people shunning cremation and choosing to instead travel long distances to bury their dead relatives in rural areas than cremate them.
The call for cremations comes amid revelations the city's two major cemeteries, West Park and Hyde Park, had filled up.
At the forefront of the campaign is mayor, Thaba Moyo who also indicated that residents should not panic as the city has identified a piece of virgin land near Pumula, which it plans to turn into a burial site. It's quite a large piece andHe said the piece of land should last the city up to 50 years.
Bulawayo City Council (BCC) recently made available an additional 300 hectares of land for burial at Luveve Extension Cemetery to reduce congestion at West Park. The central location of West Park cemetery is the major reason behind its quick shortage of burial space, as city residents favour the site to bury their relatives.
In December alone, the city had 435 burials, a slight decline from the 506 burials recorded the previous month in November.
Cremation is often viewed with suspicion in most African cultures and Zimbabwe's largely conservative society has also frowned upon it.
This has resulted in many people shunning cremation and choosing to instead travel long distances to bury their dead relatives in rural areas than cremate them.
Source - fingaz
