New cemetery to be built in Hulhumale

Cabinet declared that that a new cemetery be constructed in Hulhumale, after a discussion over the lack of burial space at Male’s Aa-saharaa cemetery.

The new cemetery in Hulhumale’ will be built within four months, and will be used to bury the dead from Malé. The government will also make ferry arrangements to carry the dead to Hulhumale.

Minivan News reported in June that congestion in the cemetery had force the Male Male’ municipality council to being burying dead bodies on top of one another, by adding six feet of soil to the burial ground.

Islamic burial practices state that bodies must be buried six feet under the earth, and must not be stacked above other bodies – a logistical challenge for one of the most congested cities on the planet.

Head of Municipality Council Adam ‘Sarangu’ Manik said at the time that the council had “no other choice” because there was simply no other land in the city to bury dead bodies.

”We have to do it like this because every day one or two people need be buried there,” Adam explained.

”The soil was put on top of the graves and prepared by the former government,” he said. ”We have no other place to bury dead bodies, so we continued burying them there.”