Finding a final resting place for a departed soul is becoming a task for Muslim families in the city with administrators of Muslim burial grounds refusing permission citing lack of space.
Hyderabad: siyasat.net
Nearly a month after a Muslim man who died of heart attack was denied burial in six graveyards suspecting of coronavirus infection, another Muslim man yesterday was also denied the space to bury.
Mohammad Fasiuddin Ilyas, son of the deceased said that his father passed away after the latter was redirected to various hospitals in the city. While a few hospitals referred him to other hospitals for better treatment, some denied admitting him, IIyas said.
After he passed away, his body was taken to Langer Houz cemetery but was denied the burial space by the mutawallis. Ilyas said that he called the helpline number of TS Waqf Board which set up a toll-free number after the last month’s incident. “I tried to reach on to the number but there was no response,” Ilyas said
On May 27, 2020, the Muslim man who was denied the burial space by mutawallis was laid to rest in the Hindu graveyard in Hyderabad. Two Hindu men — Sandeep and Sekhar extended help to the deceased family and arranged a place to bury the man in Hindu graveyard.
There are around 575 Muslim burial grounds in Hyderabad and surrounding municipalities.
Syed Ifthikar Hussaini, a Wakf protection activist, says graveyards in the city are 200 to 300 years old and naturally they were running out of space.
“New graveyards should be earmarked on Wakf properties on the city outskirts. Hundreds of acres of land endowed with the Wakf Board are lying vacant in Mamidipally, Jalpally, Mailardevpally, Rajendranagar and other places. The Board should allocate large parcels of land for burial grounds before the space is encroached,” he demanded.
MBT leader Amjedullah Khan said the TS Wakf Board should also keep administration of graveyards fully under its control and disband all managing committees.
“Managing committees of graveyards frame new rules according to their convenience and there are complaints against them that they are collecting huge money for allotting burial space,” he said.
In recent incidents, people, who approached burial ground committees – who had space available, were turned away saying the space was only for those staying in nearby localities.
“Several such incidents have occurred across the city, especially in the older parts of the city,” said Ilyas Shamshi of Reformers Front of India.
Talking with siyasat.net, Mohammed Mustaq Malik of Tehreek Muslim Shabban said managing committees were selling burial space after collecting money from families in some places. “The administrators/ committees are encouraging affluent/ rich people to buy burial space and barricade it before space in the burial ground is exhausted,” he alleged.
Following frequent complaints of mismanagement and demand for huge money from administrators of burial grounds, the TS Wakf Board had recently started a helpline.
“Whenever there are complaints of refusal of land for burial, we are immediately sending our staff to attend to the complaint. Recently, we allocated 10 acres of land at Pahadishareef for a burial ground and another five acres of land at Serilingampally. We are serious about the issue and will be taking it up for discussion in the board meeting,” said Mohammed Saleem, chairman, TS Wakf Board.
(www.siyasat.net is Ahmedabad,Gujarat, India based website)
