BENGALURU: Severe shortage of Muslim burial grounds (kabristans) across the state has led to Karnataka Wakf Board issuing a circular directing the community to strictly adhere to utilising the existing space to bury the dead. The board has also banned construction of fancy tombs and structures to save space for burials.
The circular states that only the space needed to bury the body can be used, not more than that. It suggests to the community members to bury their dead in the same place as their deceased family members, vertically.Mohammed Mohsin, Karnataka Wakf Board administrator, told The New Indian Express that there is a shortage of space in the state to bury the dead among the Muslim community.
“Once the body is buried, after a few years there will be nothing left of it. We therefore appeal to the people to bury the body of those from the same family at the same place. There is no harm in this,’’ he said. The circular says the dead can be buried above or below the location of the previous burial, and that there should be minimum space left between two bodies to ensure optimal space utilisation. Also, no additional space will be allowed to build fancy tombstones.
The circular has also directed tahsildars to ensure that the walls surrounding kabaristans are painted green to make them stand out, and that these places should have boards put up announcing that the property belongs to Wakf Board. These measures are to save the property from encroachers.The circular says strict action will be initiated against members of kabristan committees or district Wakf Board officials if they do not adhere to the board’s directions, Mohsin said.
Around 5,000 kabristans in the state are registered under the Wakf Board. However, with no new land allotted for additional kabaristans and with land encroachment problems plaguing them, the board has decided to streamline the use of these burial grounds to make better use of the available space.
Cleric Muhammad Maqsood Imran Rashadi of Jamia Masjid in City Market said that the Shariat (Islamic law book) did not have any problem with burying bodies at the same place as the dead person’s family members after a few years.The problem of shortage of burial spaces is a worldwide problem, and a similar mechanism has also been adopted in Mecca and Madina.