City council’s contractors begin clearing Maafannu Cemetery

Contractors hired by the city council have begun removing corpses and clearing the Maafannu Cemetery in Male’ City in preparation of developing a parking area there.

The city council posted an announcement seeking a contractor to clear the cemetery in August.

City council spokesperson Aminath Shathufa told Sun on Monday that the contractor hired for the job began clearing the cemetery last week.

Part of the cemetery has been closed off using tin partitions and safety nets.

Shathufa said that the disposal of corpses will be carried out by the Islamic Ministry. However, the ministry was not immediately available for comment regarding the method of disposal.

The city council previously said it plans on clearing a 36,153-square-foot area from the cemetery to develop a parking area.

The project has sparked concern from local historians.

The Maafannu Cemetery is not currently used for burial. The west side of the cemetery is already being used as a parking area.