Meerut graveyards running out of soil

MEERUT: An MLA in UP’s Meerut has released a grant of Rs 25lakh to purchase soil for the city’s five graveyards, which he said are getting at least 20 times more bodies for the last 15 days than the pre-Covid- 19 era.
Left with no space, the exhausted gravediggers have been putting layers after layers of soil to raise the level of graveyards so that more bodies could be accommodated.But, now, they are running out of soil, the MLA said.
Rafiq Ansari, Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA from Meerut city, has written a letter to district administration announcing his decision to release Rs 25lakh from his MLA fund. He has requested the administration to ensure adequate supply of soil to the five graveyards in the city by using the allotted fund.
“Due to the excessive deaths, graveyards are seeing a shortage of soil. People are facing difficulty during burial,” an excerpt in the letter read. Speaking to TOI, MLA Ansari said the situation has worsened in the past 15 days.
“Earlier, there used to be two to three burials in these graveyards every day. But now, 50 to 60 bodies are being brought there. The situation is completely out of hand,” he said.
The MLA has given additional Rs 25lakh for oxygen supply.
“There is a patient in every third house. The city has a requirement of 70 tonnes of oxygen but Meerut is being allocated only 15 tonnes. If the gas is not being allocated, people will continue to die,” he said.
Like the graveyards, crematoriums in Meerut are inundated too.