HAIL — Stray dogs are digging out the bodies of the deceased from the cemetery in Al-Halifah Al-Uliah village, residents here have alleged. The village is located south of Hail. "Our cemetery is greatly neglected. We stopped burying our dead in it as stray dogs have been seen digging dead bodies out. The municipality should pay attention to such neglect and protect the sanctity of the dead. It should at least lock its gate to make sure that no intruders enter it," said Abdullah Al-Qalladi. He also said there are no facilities in the cemetery. "Many of the people living in Al-Halifah Al-Uliah village had to go to other far away cemeteries in order to bury their dead. The cemetery does not even have water supply in it. Water is needed to complete the burial ceremony. People are forced to carry heavy gallons of water to the cemetery just to complete the burial," said A. Al-Qalladi. He added the municipality should take care of the cemetery and its facilities. Mohammad Al-Qalladi said there should be wells in the cemetery to cater to the needs of water. "People are currently forced to dig graves on their own using primitive equipment. There should be available graves in various sizes. This is the municipality's religious obligation too besides its administrative responsibility," said M. Al-Qalladi. Saad Al-Rashidi said the municipality must look into the state of the cemeteries in the area and restore them. "Most of the cemeteries in this village have no guards at their gates and their gates are left open letting stray dogs and animals in. Strong and unstable weather conditions tamper with the cemetery and damage it as well," said Al-Rashidi. He also said running a cemetery requires a working staff and a managing staff and most of the cemeteries in the village do not have any of the two.
