There is that famous Urdu couplet that says “Marr ke bhee chaen na payaa tau kidhar jaaenge? [If we can’t even find peace after death where will we go?]” This seems to hold true for the deceased in Karachi who not only in some cases leave behind monumental hospital bills to be settled by their near and dear ones but as they depart entrust them with the nearly impossible task of finding a suitable grave for their eternal resting abode.
The fact is that as there is insufficient space above the ground for Karachi residents there is also insufficient space under the ground and both are a result of poor planning and greed that transcends all other considerations.
Let us have a quick overview of the underground situation which to say the least is very grave; excuse the pun. There are approximately 203 graveyards in Karachi. Of these, 184 are for Muslims and 19 for non-Muslims. 90 fall under the control of City District Government Karachi, while 106 are looked after by societies.
There are also graveyards for minorities, and it might surprise you to know that there is also a Jewish graveyard. Graveyards are the silent history of a city and if you glance at the graveyard landscape of Karachi you will find it was since its earlier days a metropolitan and tolerant city.
There are Jewish, Christian graveyards and also at Chowkandi the tombs of Arab warriors who came with Mohammad Bin Qasim. Not all the graves and graveyards have survived. In many areas the land mafia has even destroyed historic relics of our past to grab land for unauthorized construction.
Coming back to the difficulty in finding a grave for a loved one it is evident that present facilities are highly inadequate in terms of daily requirements of this metropolitan city. The result is that many graveyards that are officially closed are still providing graves like the P.E.C.H.S. graveyard where graves can be “Created” for amounts ranging from 25,000 to 50,000 depending on location.
An insider informed me that those in charge keep a look out for graves which are not usually frequented by near and dear ones and when they are satisfied that the relatives of the deceased are either not interested or migrated they have no hesitation in invading those graves, creating fresh ones to be sold at a premium price.
I visited the P.E.C.H.S. graveyard this Eid to visit my parents’ graves. I was astonished at the unusually large crowd at the graveyard. There was no place to park and I have been going to this graveyard for many decades and this was the largest crowd on Eid I had seen. A friend who also visits this graveyard regularly explained to me the reason or reasons.
He said this only proves that there are now a large number of fresh graves as people tend to visit the recently deceased rather than those who passed away decades back.
He said this crowd only proves that though officially closed this graveyard is still doing roaring business and creating fresh spaces. This is not an exception but a norm as far as other so-called closed graveyards are concerned.
In all these cases the central figure is the all-powerful Gorkan (gravedigger) with his assistants. There are children with buckets of water following you around to nourish the grave you visit and of course get paid for their endeavors, there are masons and even a preacher to offer fateha on your behalf if you so desire.
A well-organized team ready to receive you at graveyards across the city. Graveyards are minting money because of lack of planning by all concerned. When a new housing scheme is launched it must have plans for graveyards, parks and other amenities for the residents but most of it is mostly ignored because the price of land is too high to be wasted in projects that do not yield desired results.
A friend of mine laughs it off. “It is not my problem when I am gone,” he says, adding: “Let my family figure it out”.
Many families do and usually large amounts of money change hands before the problem is solved. All this must change and concerned authorities must ensure that residents of this city at least find peace in death if not in their lives.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
The writer is a well-known columnist
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