New Cemetery will be full by the end of the month: City Council

Male’ City Council has said that the area dedicated for burial at the New Cemetery (Aa Sahara) is almost full, and unless it is extended, there will be no room for the dead in the cemetery by the end of this month.

Male’ City Council Mayor Maizan Ali Manik said that this problem remains unsolved, despite the numerous discussions held in this regard with relevant government authorities.

He said that about eight bodies are taken to the cemetery every day.

“About five, six, or eight people die every day. Unless we can put soil in the New Cemetery by the end of the month, burial will not be possible anymore. The coffins will have to be kept on the street, or be buried on the street. We have noticed that the number of deaths have increased lately. We have been trying to find a solution for more than a year now,” he said.

Ali Manik further said that according to the Ministry of Finance, the work to put black soil in the cemetery in order to extend it had been commissioned to Thilafushi Corporation.

It has not been possible to contact any official of Thilafushi Corporation for their comment on this matter, as the Managing Director is currently not in the country and his subordinate is on sick leave.

Ali Manik said that efforts are ongoing by the council to procure black soil and solve this problem, but it is not likely that the problem can be solved by their efforts alone.

He said that this issue was brought up at the latest meeting of the Parliament Committee on Oversight of the Government, but until today, no action had been taken.