Space running out at city cemetery
There’s an old riddle that asks: why is the cemetery always crowded? The answer: because people are dying to get in. That joke just about sums up the situation facing the recently departed of Belize City. Jacqueline Woods reports.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
On average, one person is laid to rest each day at the Lord Ridge Cemetery. In death, just as in life, residents of Belize City must first create the land before they can use it. For the Belize City Council, this means periodically filling the swamp along the Western Highway. Earlier this month, they began work on some of the last available space.
David Fonseca, Mayor, Belize City
“The area that has being filled in over those two weeks is about a hundred and ninety-five feet by a hundred and twenty-five feet. And with measurements being done, we will be able to accommodate about four hundred and thirty-five grave space, which should take us to about eighteen months.”
At that time, Belize City Mayor, David Fonseca, says the public should not be concerned because an additional piece of land near the cemetery has already been identified. In addition, Fonseca says people will also have the choice of reusing their family space.
David Fonseca
“Right in the same area where they are doing this present filling, just next to it, it’s more going south-west of that particular area, which will accommodate another hundred, a hundred to a hundred and twenty-five grave space. So that would then take you probably into two and a half years from now. In addition to that there are existing graves that can be reused by family if they so desire. Untombed graves can be reused after seven years and tombed graves can be reused after twelve years. And there’s a high amount of, I don’t have the exact figures, but there’s a high amount of those graves that can be reused at this present time.”
Fonseca says they also encourage people to use the private cemetery further up the highway. But many Belizeans cannot afford that service and are more inclined to pay the fifty dollars the city charges for a grave space.
David Fonseca
“No, there is no need for us to worry, there’s enough grave space there. People might say, well what if we have a hurricane. Well then when we have a hurricane we’ll deal with it in a separate. A hurricane will create a high number of deaths and that is always handled in a different manner, as we experience in the last serious hurricane, Hattie. That was dealt with in a different manner.”
Presently there is no other site available in Belize City to bury the dead. But, Mayor Fonseca says he does not see a major problem at least during the next three years. After that, he hopes the city limits would have been expanded.
David Fonseca
“The other area of direction that council is looking at is because the city is limits…we would want the city limits to be expanded. We’re also looking at other areas in other parts of those proposed expanded areas to accommodate probably another cemetery.”
That future cemetery will be located somewhere along the Northern or Western Highways. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
The recent filling at the Cemetery was done at cost of sixty thousand dollars.
