San Juan Cemetery to be closed

The escalating murder rate has created a new problem along the East/West corridor — the need for space to bury the dead. Due to the record 385 people murdered in 2005, one cemetery has been filled to its maximum capacity, causing the authorities to look at reopening a cemetery that had been closed six years ago. The San Juan Public Cemetery at the Santa Cruz Old Road has been used as the convenient burial ground for many of the gang members and other criminals who were killed last year. The chairman of the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation, Jeffrey Reyes, yesterday said that he had been notified by the people responsible for the cemetery that there was absolutely no more room available at that cemetery. They advised that if the cemetery was to remain in use, graves that were five years old instead of the standard seven years would have to be used.

Most of the burials at the cemetery have been from the Laventille area, which recorded the most murders in the Port-of-Spain Division last year. To deal with the problem and the continuing increase in murders — 30 in 24 days this year — the corporation is planning to reopen the Morvant Mountainview Public Cemetery. That cemetery was closed because of bad roads, poor infrastructure and the fact that it had been filled to capacity at the time. Gravediggers at the San Juan Public Cemetery yesterday told Newsday that they have been unable to locate spots to bury members of the public. They added that due to the space problem in San Juan, graves are now spilling onto the pavement.

A decision was taken by the corporation to use graves that are five years old, but that has also hit a snag because most of the graves have already been re-dug and reused. Members of the public who bury their dead at public cemeteries are told that the graves could be used to accommodate bodies after a five-year period. That time frame was initially seven years to reuse a grave, but due to the cramped situation at San Juan, the timeframe was decreased to five years. Two persons are buried per day at the San Juan Cemetery and the space problem is noticeable. Reyes told Newsday that the situation in San Juan has been a source of concern for some time, but a decision must be taken to deal with it.

He said the Mountainview Public Cemetery will soon undergo a facelift to make it available for burials. The cemetery was also vandalised and a building which housed the cemetery-keeper will have to be replaced. The Ministry of Local Government has already been informed of the move to reopen the Mountainview Public Cemetery, and a proposal is to be sent soon. Reyes yesterday said that the St Ann’s Cemetery was closed two years ago because it had been filled to capacity, while the Laventille Cemetery was deemed waterlogged and unusable. No decisions have been taken concerning those cemeteries.