The Rosignol/Zeelust Neighbour-hood Democratic Council (NDC) has launched an investigation into the removal of sand from a burial ground located at Murphy Dam Cemetery, West Bank Berbice, resulting in several tombs disappearing.
Regional Vice Chairman, Rion Peters, yesterday said that during the evening he received reports that “some individuals” were doing excavation in the Murphy Dam Cemetery as such he decided to check on the situation yesterday where he discovered “residents who were in grief and who were dissatisfied.”
According to Peters, he is very surprised that persons would want to carry out such an act in a cemetery the “final resting place” for the deceased.
Peters stressed, that based on the NDC layout (plan) the area is officially identified as a communal burial ground as he stressed that the police have been contacted.
Furthermore, he added that the matter is also being investigated at the level of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and NDC.
Clarifying that to his knowledge the individual has no contract with the RDC to supply sand, Peters said, “There is a lot of construction going on so I’m not sure if this sand is being sold to private persons or contractor or what but the fact remains that the issue at hand is that the sand was removed from a cemetery and it is affecting the community.”
Meanwhile, several residents who gathered at the location yesterday said that the graves of their deceased cannot be found.
Vanessa also known as “Vanu” relayed that her husband passed away in June and was buried at the location, however, they cannot find his grave since the excavation. “We get message that somebody digging out and when we come nothing na here, just the hole we seeing, not even one piece board, nothing, nothing.”
Another villager, Rajendra Victor, 64, explained that several other tombs are missing.
“More people bury here and them can’t find them… Last week Saturday me come a back dam and see them a dig with a hymac and them move out that one heap sand and them na move this one… Them a time people and try to move it and abbay loved ones them bury here, me father, me mother, me sister all bury here”, he said.
According to Victor, decades ago four residents came together and handed over the land for the burial ground. “When rain fall all them tomb wa left go wash down, them na supposed to do that to come and destroy the burial ground”, he lamented.
