Karachi: Pay as you die: Graveyards commerce

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Qadeer Tanoli
Inflation has left its mark on everything, ranging from food to petrol to accommodation. Now, not even the cost of burying the dead has been spared.

No graves cost less than Rs2,500 in any graveyard of the city. The price of a shroud hovers between at least Rs800 to Rs1,200, which is beyond the reach of common man. Most prefer to administer the washing up of the body themselves, but those who hire professionals must pay at least Rs500. Coffins now come up to a cost of Rs3,000.

The only affordable burial for the lower middle class comes from the Edhi Foundation, which is known for its extraordinary concessions at every step involved in this rite of passage. There are two places the Edhi Foundation administer the last bath: at Sohrab Goth and Moosa Lane. For the last bath and a shroud, the foundation charges a mere Rs300. Those who cannot afford even this are exempt from payment. The amount is adjusted in the foundation’s Zakat fund.

Despite such an alternative, one problem still crops up: finding a grave. There are 165 graveyards in the city. Authorities have declared that 83 of these reached their maximum capacity in 2006. Burials at any of these graveyards are banned. The Sakhi Hassan Graveyard has had no space for new graves since 2003. Nevertheless, every month, nearly 300 deceased are buried here, with the most recent burial taking place on August 16.

The Edhi Foundation initially had one graveyard in Mauach Goth, but when this recently reached its maximum capacity, 10 acres of land were acquired for a new graveyard close by.

Newer graveyards (not run by the Edhi foundation) are situated away from the city centre. Mourners usually try to find graves in graveyards which are nearby, which is where the importance of the role of the grave digger emerges. The amount grave diggers charge varies from one graveyard to the next. At the graveyard near Tariq Road, for instance, one grave comes up to a cost of Rs10,000 to Rs15,000. In Mewashah Graveyard, grave diggers usually charge Rs7,000 to Rs8,000 per grave.

The graveyard near the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi is considered to be most expensive burial site in the city, with burials coming up to a cost of Rs150,000. By contrast, the graveyard at Gizri is considered to be the least expensive, where a burial costs Rs2,500, which is inclusive of all expenses.