DOHA: With a significant rise in the number of deaths in the country, the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning is working on a QR100m project to develop the main burial ground in Mesaimeer.
The project includes construction of a new mosque attached with a library, bigger waiting halls for men and women, more parking areas and a new assembly point for ambulances, among others.
“We have been witnessing a rise in the number of deaths and we receive up to 10 bodies for burial on certain days,” Al Sharq quoted Nasr Al Sulaiti, head of the graveyard section at the Doha Municipality as saying.
Work on the new mosque is almost ready, which is seven times bigger than the old mosque. It can accommodate up to 2,500 worshippers and will be attached with a big library. The funeral prayers are held at the mosque before the burial.
The project also includes expansion of the wash rooms, where the body is washed according to Islamic rituals, before burial. There will be four washrooms for men and a similar number for women and more spacious waiting rooms for men and women.
The new parking area will have the capacity for 300 vehicles. More roads and walkways have been built for visitors to go to the burial ground.
“We are in the process of numbering the graves. Visitors will be able to identify the graves using these numbers,” said Al Sulaiti.
Each grave is separated with interlocks so that visitors would not walk over them, inadvertently. The burial ground has been divided into several blocks with each block having a capacity for 1,000 graves.
The facility currently has employed 59 people for washing the bodies, 35 of whom are women.
“There are more women because some families request their services to wash the body at home. We have a plan to increase the number of women to meet the growing demand,” said Al Sulaiti.
The burial ground currently uses the services of 15 ambulances and this will be increased to 25 under the new project.
The Peninsula
