Grave matters

Squeezing space in the existing graveyards has pushed the government to look for land on the edge of the city in Kahna and Thay Panju

February 15, 2009
By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: In a city where living is becoming expensive by the day, death has become even more costly.
In a city where about 70 percent people live in rented houses, it is a compulsion to buy land for their eternal resting place. A grave costs between Rs10,000 and Rs15,000 at present which is beyond the reach of the impoverished majority.
With the city graveyards cramped with no further space, it becomes difficult to arrange for a grave once someone dies.
There are over 350 big and small graveyards in the provincial metropolis out of which Miani Sahib is the biggest as well as the oldest. Most of the existing graveyards are suffering from disrepair and are in a state of dilapidation.
The biggest graveyard of the city Miani Sahab, located on Bahawalpur Road, ran out of space sometime back leaving the citizens puzzled over the funeral arrangements of their loved ones.
Miani Sahib has been divided into seven blocks. Each block is named after some famous writer, scholar or sufi. The graveyard stretched over 175 acres in the last century but now only a 100 acre is left. The rest is consumed by different communities and Qabza groups.
The graveyard mafia has encroached upon a large portion of land in the graveyards and has constructed boundary walls around them, covering large portions of the cemeteries.
The land grabbers have also made shops, houses and other edifices on caved-in graves, outside the boundary walls and even inside. Even drug addicts have been found stealing the shrouds and sheet of cloth to make money in the dark. And the local authorities responsible for the maintenance of graveyards have miserably failed to maintain their sanctity.
A case regarding encroachments in the premises of Miani Sahab graveyard is also pending before the Lahore High Court for the last two years.
The issue of shortage of land cropped up some four years back, since then the City District Government is 'searching' for a suitable replacement of Miani Sahib graveyard. The new project was named as Miani II.
The authorities have only made acquisition of land for graveyard an issue of Progress Review Meeting for the past many months.
Grave diggers are also taking full advantage of the situation and extract handsome amount from the relatives of the dead for providing a piece of land. The grave diggers, who virtually rule the graveyards, reportedly go to the extent of making fake graves.
Besides, as per the rules of the CDGL, all the housing societies being constructed in private and public sector are bound to reserve two per cent of the total land for graveyards but this rule has not been followed by most of them.
The City District Government Lahore is going to start a new project of second phase of Miani Sahab graveyard to overcome the problem of space.
The CDGL is working on this project for the last two years but could not find a specific big place for new graveyard. Now two pieces of land have been proposed for Miani Sahab graveyard phase II which is about 1800 kanals, The News on Sunday learnt from DDO Cantt (Revenue) Syeda Kalsoom who said the land would be purchased soon. She said the said lands, situated in two adjacent villages namely Kahna and Thay Panju have been finalised and the department is waiting for release of funds. DDO Cantt said that all the documentation has almost been completed and the construction of new graveyard phase II would start just after the department gets payment of Rs. 250 million from the CDGL.

Quality in question

Prices and quality of milk available in the city vary greatly and call for regulation by the government because milk is an essential food item

March 08, 2009
By Sajid Bashir

LAHORE: Milk prices vary greatly in the provincial metropolis and so does quality of milk but not according to the pricing. The prices vary from Rs 28 to Rs 42 per litre.
A survey conducted by TNS reveals that the daily consumption of milk in Lahore in summer season is around 1.6 million litres out of which 0.3 million is packed milk while the rest 1.3 million is loose milk and some 800 to 900 shops in each town of the city are selling milk.
The milk price varies from area to area and the milk dealers claim they are selling best quality milk and deserve higher rates while reports are to the contrary. A drive to check this variation was started on the instructions of former Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif on receiving complaints from the public. The Food Department was directed to take immediate measures to resolve this problem.
District Officer Live Stock (retd) Dr Aqeel says the dairy department has been neglected for 40 years due to which the milk quality and prices are not constant. "No one can control the price of milk until the supply of milk meets the demand. The sale of milk at Rs. 40 per litre is not much because one litre milk costs Rs 34 to the dealers as well as the Gawalas. As a result they have to sell adulterated milk to get healthy benefit in which chemicals like urea, caustic soda, refined oil, especially used and cheap cooking oil and commonly used detergents are mixed," he says.
These chemicals increase the shelf life of milk and remove traces of adulteration and mixing of hazardous chemicals. The district officer Live Stock says gawalas and farmers are also using oxytocin injections, a human female hormone, on buffaloes and cows to draw more milk. He says people, especially children drinking such milk, run the risk of developing female characteristics in the body like breasts, shrill voice and loss of hair on the face.
Dr Aqeel says it will take at least 10 years to stabilize the price and quality of milk in the city and a long term planning is required for that.
District Offier Food Dr Masood says the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has decided to establish model shops in every town where it will ensure supply of quality milk on a uniform rate.
The plan to introduce a uniform rate of milk across the provincial metropolis was made by the former chief minister and the CDGL’s Food department was working hard to implement the plan. Now, after the change of government, the plan to introduce a uniform rate of milk across the city has shrunk to establishing some shops in every town.
In a recent meeting the District Coordination Officer (DCO) has asked the Food department to establish eight to ten model milk shops in every town of the city, he adds. District Officer Food says these shops will sell milk at a uniform rate and will also install lactometers to ensure the quality of milk.
He says special teams were also constituted to complete registration of all milk sellers, suppliers and dealers in the city. The department has sent a detailed summary to the DCO Lahore for final decision.
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