Bandung lacks space for burials

BANDUNG: The West Java capital of Bandung lacks open space for public cemeteries, an official said here on Thursday.

The head of the Bandung burial service agency, Goesti Djafar, said the administration had tried to acquire more land for burials over the past 10 years, but to no avail.

"We need an additional 2.4 hectares per annum for graveyards, based on the fact that an average of 6,000 people die every year, or between 15 and 17 per day," Goesti said.

He said existing graveyards had not been optimally used because relatives of the deceased did not take care of the graves and failed to pay dues.

The town now has 13 cemeteries in which there are some 390,000 graves occupying more than 12,000 hectares of land. (25/sur)