The practice of encroaching in graveyards of the city and the cantonment has left no space for people to bury their deceased relatives.
The land mafia has illegally occupied wide tracts of land in all graveyards including ones at Committee Chowk, Dhok Khabba, Jadeed Graveyard and Pir Wadhai. They have set up workshops in these areas and many have constructed homes on land allocated for burial purposes.
Due to a lack of monitoring arrangements, all graveyards have been neglected. Incidents of the desecration of graves are also reported to be on the rise and black magic practitioners have been hauling dead bodies out without impunity.
Many criminals have set up gambling dens and safe havens in these graveyards and they continue their activities with the connivance of corrupt police officials.
“We can not bury the dead bodies of our relatives due to the illegal occupation of graveyards by encroachers and land mafia,” said a group of residents near the Dhok Khabba Graveyard.
Citizens have requested the government to take swift measures for vacating the illegally occupied land and allocate more land for burial purposes.
