the goan I network
PANAJI
People on Sunday strongly opposed the proposed move of the Corporation of the City of Panaji to renovate the St Inez cemetery at a meeting held at the St Inez Church community hall.
The issues in contention were the plans for removal and remodification of ‘niches’ where families preserve relics of loved ones and the move to repair and line with concrete the existing graves in the cemetery. The architect for the renovation project Rahul Deshpande explained the project to the gathering of Panaji citizens where former Panaji Mayor Tony Rodrigues and ex-councillor Patricia Pinto were present.
Interestingly, no official representative of the CCP which has prepared the plan to renovate cemetery in three phases at an estimated cost of around Rs 6.1 crore attended the meeting.
The plan includes reconstruction of the retaining wall of the cemetery alongside the Altinho hillock, drainage, footpaths, illumination and other small repair work in the first phase.
Although the renovation plan was under consideration of the CCP for over six years, citizens were not taken into confidence at the planning stage and the civic body is
attempting to bring them on board at the final implementation stage, once financial approval for the project was received from the government.
Sunday’s meeting where people voiced their opposition to the plan was one such attempt at consultation by the CCP.
Several of the 1200-odd graves at the more than century-old cemetery are privately owned by individual families and so are the niches embedded in the compound walls. People at the meeting agreed to all other renovation work at the cemetery except removal of the existing niches and renovation of the graves.
There are around 730 niches which and 1205 graves in the cemetery. According to the plan, the number of niches were to be increased by an additional 570.
The CCP has assured not to touch the older part of the cemetery on the eastern side of the Church and urged citizens to file there written objection to the project by August 31.
