PANAJI
In its letter to the Jamat UL Muslamin Gansia Sunni Trust on September 19, the CCP has stated: "It is to inform you that the Muslim cemetery (kabrastan) at St Inez owned by this Corporation is to bury only the deceased persons of Panaji, who are residents within CCP limits."
"Due to limited space, bodies of Muslim communities from outside Panaji city limits cannot be allowed to be buried in this cemetery/kabrastan."
"You are, therefore, requested to please note that persons who expire elsewhere, i.e. out of CCP jurisdiction, are not allowed to be buried at the Muslim cemetery (kabrastan), St Inez, Panaji", stated the letter.
When contacted for comments in the matter, CCP Mayor Surendra Furtado stated that the resolution regarding the kabrastan issue had been taken during the time
when Carolina Po was the CCP mayor.
He, however, declined to explain how and why the matter had come up at this point in time and did not divulge further details in the matter.
The CCP's decision has not gone down well with the Muslim community.
Reacting to the CCP's directives, Azad Jamatul Muslimeen Welfare Trust President Sayed Manzoor Kadri said, "Since Liberation, we have been fighting to have kabrastans in Goa. As there are very few kabrastans, if any person passes away, we have to take the body for burial to a nearby kabrastan, or in some cases, to their native places outside the State."
Requesting the State government to have designated places for kabrastans, Kadri said, "The State government should look into the matter at the earliest and create such burial facilities for the Muslim community."
