Many citizens have criticized the mayoralty's negligence in taking care of graveyards across the city as many of them lack protective compound walls while some others are misused as waste dumps and children's playgrounds. The citizens called upon authorities to construct walls around graveyards showing respect for individuals buried there. Graveyard No. 11 situated parallel to the second ring road and adjacent to a well-known shopping center in the city is one among them. Al-Madina Arabic daily conducted a survey of such abandoned graveyards in the city to turn the attention of authorities toward them. Graveyard No. 4 in Uhud and Graveyard No. 5 in Orwa district do not have compound walls and require special attention, the paper said. "These graveyards have become playgrounds for children, cats and mice because they don't have a compound wall," said one citizen, adding that Graveyard No. 7 in Al-Awali has become a waste dump. Authorities have awarded contracts worth nearly SR3.5 for the maintenance of graveyards including construction of compound walls a few years ago. But only one of the graveyards has been handed over to authorities after maintenance, the paper said. "A SR2.3 million contract for construction of compound walls was awarded five years ago but until now only half of the project is completed," the paper pointed out. Graveyard No. 11 is situated in a private property in Al-Awali district. A lawsuit has been filed either to shift it to another place or construct a wall around the graveyard for its protection. Graveyard No. 5 is located along the road in Orwa district. "A lot of development works is taking place in the district but the graveyard remains as it was without any change for the last 60 years. Contracting firms keep sands and other construction materials inside the graveyard," the paper reported. Al-Awali Municipality has not given any care for Graveyard No. 7 in the district. Even though it has a compound wall people have converted this 100-year-old graveyard into a dump. Many citizens have expressed their anguish on people throwing waste in the graveyard without showing any respect to the dead. "The mayoralty should take immediate steps for the maintenance and cleanliness of the graveyard," one of them said. Mohammed Haushan Al-Harbi, the Omdah of Orwa district, said authorities have ignored the graveyard in the district for the last 60 years. The mayoralty has not built a wall around the graveyard. They have just put a sign board. "He urged authorities to construct a wall around the graveyard." Abdul Rahman Jaza, a Saudi, emphasized the need to construct compound wall around graveyards showing respect for the dead. "The mayoralty spends billions of riyals on development projects but it does not allocate any money for the maintenance of graveyards. This is sheer negligence." Ahmed Mafouz said many graveyards that are located in the middle of districts do not have compound walls. Some people throw waste to graveyards showing disrespect to the dead. Anas Hamdan also criticized the mayoralty for its negligence toward graveyards. The mayoralty should ensure cleanliness and maintenance of graveyards, he added. Dr. Ali Bin Abbas Hekami, a member of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars and member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, said Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has instructed Muslims to respect the dead in graveyards and should not walk over them. "We should maintain graveyards properly and prevent everything that harms them," he said. He stressed the need to construct compound walls around them in order to safeguard them. "We should inform the public by writing on a board that nobody should show harm or disrespect for the dead by encroaching onto the graveyard or throwing waste or walking over the graves." Yahya Bin Saif Saleh, assistant deputy mayor for services, said if people inform the mayoralty about individuals throwing waste onto the graveyard it would take punitive action against them as per the law. He said a committee would be formed to study the condition of graveyards in the city. Saleh said walls have been constructed around 136 graveyards. "People should inform us when they see any graves without walls. Nobody should be allowed to remove the remnants of bodies in a grave except through a religious ruling considering essentiality of removing it." The Madinah mayoralty had previously announced its plan to link Baqie Al-Gharqed near the Prophet's Mosque and 105 other graveyard with the GPS system. This will enable the public to locate the graves of their relatives and other loved ones in the city easily. The project involves preparing an archive of people buried in Baqie during the past 70 years. But the mayoralty has not yet implemented the project. Al-Madinah has learned that at least 50 graveyards in the city remain without compound walls. One and a half years ago, the minister of municipal and rural affairs had urged all municipalities to construct walls around graveyards and give them proper care and maintenance. Graveyards should be established in prime locations and guards should be appointed to look after them. The road to the graveyard must be asphalted and it should be protected from floods. The ministry's directive seeks continuous maintenance of graveyards as well as their cleanliness. The name boards on graveyards should be cleaned to identify the buried individuals.
