Renovation work drags on for 5 years

Even after going through the horrific experience of losing a loved one, families who had to bury their deceased relatives at the Muradpur cemetery faced another layer of suffering.

This is because the graveyard gets completely inundated after just a drizzle.

 As a result, Dhaka South City Corporation undertook a development project in 2018 to renovate the age-old graveyard.

 Since then, the modernisation work has dragged on for five years and the authorities have repeatedly failed to say when it will be completed.

 According to DSCC sources, a two-storey building will be constructed on the south side of the cemetery. The ground floor will have a bathing facility for the deceased. The second floor will host an office room, ablution room, a toilet and the imam's accommodation.

 The graveyard ground will be raised through earth filling and the drainage system will be improved significantly. Besides, new boundary walls have already been set up around the graveyard as part of the project.

 Visiting the graveyard recently, this correspondent saw workers filling the ground with sand to enhance the drainage capacity.

 However, there's a pent up anger among locals, as the facility has been closed for five years with no announcements on when it will be reopened.

 Local resident Nazrul Islam said, "All of a sudden, they closed the facility for civilians some five years ago, saying it'll be reopened shortly after renovation. But the work has been going on at a slow pace since then."

 Another local, Fazlur Rahman, said about one-third of the cemetery used to be under knee-deep water when it rained.

"So we were optimistic when the renovation work began, but we had no idea that we had to wait so long," he added.

 Contacted, Executive Engineer of DSCC (Zone-5) Saiful Islam Joy said the renovation work of Jurain and Muradpur cemeteries started together in 2018. During the Jurain Cemetery renovation, there was a budget shortfall.

As a result, in the first phase, only the Jurain cemetery was renovated. In the next phase, the work of Muradpur graveyard has started.  "A lot of work has already been done. We hope to open this cemetery to public in the next three to four months," he added.