Salcete BDO told to direct all p'yats to discuss issue of burial grounds

MARGAO

In a new development on the issue of state owned burial and cremation grounds, Director of Panchayats Siddhi Halarnakar has sent a letter to the Salcete Block Development Officer to direct all the village Panchayat  secretaries to place the matter on burial grounds at the fortnightly Panchayat meetings for discussions.

The Panchayat’s Director diktat comes following a correspondence received from the Additional Director of Panchayat-II, South along with a complaint filed a resident of Margao,  Abdul Matin Carol on the question of setting up state owned burial and cremation grounds in the jurisdiction of the village Panchayat.

In the letter, the Panchayat Director has directed the Salcete Block Development Officer to direct all the Village Panchayat Secretaries under their jurisdiction to place the matter in the fortnightly meeting for discussion, take appropriate action with respect to the complaint and submit a detailed report to the office within 15 days from receipt of this memorandum.

It has been the contention of Abdul Matin Carol that setting up of burial grounds in the villages of Salcete will automatically resolve the issue of Kabrastan faced by the Muslim community at Margao.

Abdul Matin insisted that all the bodies which are buried at the Margao kabrastan located atop the Pajifond hillock are not from Margao, but from the villages in Salcete countryside. 

“Most of the bodies that are brought to the Margao burial ground at Pajifond for burial are from Village Panchayat areas, specially from Rumdamol, Davorlim, Sao Jose d' Areal, Nesai, Chandor, Curtorim, Navelim - Sirlim Telaulim, Sarzora, Seraulim and Betatalbatim. If burial grounds are set up in the villages, the question of bringing the bodes to Margao for burial will not arise and solve the issues plaguing the Margao Kabrastan”, he said.

Incidentally, Abdul Matin recalled that the human Rights commission and the Chief Secretary had issued directions to the village Panchayat bodies right from 2016 on the question of state owned burial grounds,  but lamented that the panchayats have not initiated measures to set up the burial grounds.