-the project was brainchild of former Punjab CM Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif
LAHORE: The Punjab Shehar-e-Khamoshan Authority (PSKA) is gaining popularity among people and has managed to provide door to door services for the burials and associated matters whereas, the constitution of the Board of Directors (BoD) of the authority is still in limbo, Pakistan Today has learnt.
It was further learnt that the Kahna graveyard of Shehar-e-Khamoshan has almost 600 graves while locals of the area continue to approach PSKA for their services.
According to reliable sources in the PSKA, it was learnt that the Shehar-e-Khamoshan project was initiated by the former Punjab chief minister (CM) Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. Salman Sufi was given the additional charge as its director general (DG) but during that time, PSKA could not gain much popularity and lacked advertisement despite the fact that the staff was heavily paid and had perks higher than other government employees.
On the other hand, Aleem Khan, the former Local Government and Community Development provincial minister worked on the betterment of PSKA and also resolved issues faced by employees including salary disbursement and projection of PSKA among the targeted audience which was successful.
The project of Shehar-e-Khamoshan was launched to set up model graveyards based on the pattern of graveyards in the cities of developing countries while presently Shehar-e-Khamoshan is providing all the facilities for fulfilling the rituals involved in the burial of a dead body including services for washing the dead body, provision of cold storage, funeral prayer area and burial spot at one place whereas ambulance services have also been provided and a place for ablution and waiting areas have also been developed and all the facilities will be provided free of cost. .
A resident of Lahore Township, Saad Raja said, “I appreciate the government for introducing this facility for the lower middle and poor classes. When a loved one passes away it is chaotic and arranging for the burial and other services is a hassle. My father-in-law passed away last month and I called Shehar-e-Khamoshan who immediately noted my details and sent over an ambulance. I think they are working efficiently and we need more of such graveyards in Lahore”.
“I am a widow and when my husband passed away two months ago I was helpless as I had no other male member in the house except for my eighteen years old son. My son managed to contact Shehar-e-Khamoshan and they did all the burial services and rituals of my deceased husband. It is a good initiative by the government because otherwise the rate of graves in other parts of the city is touching the sky and even coffins have gone expensive now. Poor people like me cannot afford high-cost graves with low incomes,” said Saliha Rasheed, a resident of Gaju Mata.
Shehar-e-Khamoshan Kahna Graveyard’s manager Faisal Hussain Shah said, “PSKA is performing good and is creating awareness among people regarding its services. Now we have almost 600 graves in Kahna graveyard and on a daily basis, people are calling us. The issues of our salaries have also been resolved by the government and the staff is efficiently working now. I think this is one of the most needed services for the people because when they lose a loved one it is difficult for the immediate family to make arrangements for the burial and other rituals.
“We at Shehar-e-Khamoshan provide all required facilities at that time and our ambulance picks up the dead body, gives the last bath and we have a Janazgah where the funeral prayers are offered. This has given ease to the people especially the low-income persons. The issue of constituting the Board of Directors will also be resolved soon as to my knowledge this is in process,” he concluded.