Cemetery to be cleaned

 THE National Capital District Commission’s health division is waiting for funding before it starts work on removing illegal structures at 9-Mile cemetery, an officer says.

Chief health surveyor Isoa More said it was not going to be an easy task because it would involve relatives who could be hurt emotionally.

“I know it will cause a lot of inconvenience but it has to be done for the sake of development and most importantly space which is becoming scarce in the cemetery,” More said.

However, he said before work started they would issue a notice to the general public to remove monuments and structures they had built on the graves.

He said they would give the public time to remove the structures and after the date deadliine, NCDC would pull down the structures. He said burial plots were measured and allocated but people set up structures that exceeded the size of the allotted portion taking up space meant for more graves. 

More said any structure that was to be built over one or two metres in height and width would require the approval of the NCD building board.

“Because of land issues, we have applied to the Lands Department for more land portions to extend the boundaries of the cemetery.

“There are so many things at the cemetery which the NCDC needs to take control of and improve,” he said. 

“NCDC is working on putting sections and allotments in place for all the graves so that the public can easily identify resting places.” More said under the cemetery development plan, they proposed to build a chapel, a crematory facility and a mini shop.