Senior Reporter
rhondor.dowlat@guardian.co.tt
President of the Association of Funeral Professionals Keith Belgrove says the time has come for a large, national cemetery to meet the growing demand for burial space.
The ongoing issue of limited space became a grave one, as in April this year, an exclusive report by Guardian Media revealed that several cemeteries across the country were nearing capacity and on the verge of closing down.
Last week, Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Faris Al-Rawi said the ministry was in the process of identifying appropriate land and areas to establish new cemeteries and crematoria, with five applications being reviewed. But Belgrove said, “Funeral services have really come to the rescue of the government and Trinidad and Tobago.”
He added that the shortage of burial space had been a gradual problem exacerbated over many years. In an interview with Guardian Media last weekend, Belgrove highlighted the positive impact private crematoriums have had on the issue of burial space.
Crematoriums began emerging as early as 1998 in San Fernando and have since expanded to various regions, including Arima, Tobago, Penal, and potentially Chaguanas. Belgrove said the presence of these facilities had alleviated some of the pressure on Government-operated cemeteries.
Belgrove said he and the Association of Funeral Professionals would continue to advocate for the establishment of a national cemetery and improved oversight of burial practices to ensure sustainable and respectful solutions for the future. He stressed the need for a large, national cemetery to avoid the issue of running out of space.
“One that is properly centralised, with a lifespan of at least 100 years for inventory space.”
He also raised concerns about the impact of the repeated use of graves on groundwater, particularly across the east-west corridor, advocating for careful management and monitoring of these practices.
The Burial Grounds Act stipulates that a grave can only be reopened for another burial after seven years for adults and five years for children under 12, further complicating the management of cemetery space.
On the issue of finding space for cemeteries, Al-Rawi emphasised the necessity of residential consultations to identify and approve new locations, acknowledging the challenge of public opposition.
“If you ask most people, ‘Let’s open new cemeteries,’ they’ll say, ‘Sure, but just not next to me.’ So, you have a balancing act,” he said. On February 29, the country’s newest cemetery, the Muslim cemetery in Barrackpore, was officially opened.