28,000 bodies to be moved

28,000 bodies to be moved

JAKARTA (JP): At least 28,000 bodies will be moved from North Jakarta's Dobo public cemetery to Semper, North Jakarta, to make way for the expansion of the Tanjung Priok container port.

The exhumation and moving of the bodies starts today and will last until April 30. The move is based on the gubernatorial decree on the closure and vacating of the 53,054 square meter cemetery, the head of City Burial Agency, Syafriel Zainuddin was quoted as saying by Antara on Saturday.

The minister of home affairs has approved the move and issued a decree supporting the governor's decision.

Zainuddin has asked the relatives of those buried in Dobo to contact the cemetery office in North Jakarta for details.

"The relatives will not have to pay anything," he said. (sur)