Hyderabad: Getting space for burials in Hyderabad within your budget is not easy given the increase in population and the shrinking of graveyard land. Custodians of graveyards can demand Rs 1 lakh for providing space for a grave.
As the city began expanding, the grounds for graveyards began to get scarce as the land was appropriated for building. The practice of erecting structures on graves as a kind of memorial that would make it permanent has disappeared since it is no longer allowed.
With all the space allotted being used up, it’s become very difficult to find a place for burial and the time-honoured Indian practice of greasing palms has to be resorted to in order to get permission to dig a grave.
Worse hit are the posh localities in the city where people have quite a run-around to find just 10 yards of space in a graveyard. Many graveyards reserve space only for local residents.
Custodians of Muslim graveyards are demanding money – a minimum of Rs 2,000, going up to `25,000 in some.
Charges for burial in graveyards that are attached to a Dargah are very high. The amount escalates if you choose a place near the shrine and can be as high as `1 lakh in some places.
Mohammed Ifteqar, a Wakf activist, says that though the chairman of the Wakf Board, Mohammed Saleem, has warned the mutawallis and managing committees against taking money, the practice continues.
