The Hulhumale’ Cemetery has been facing significant challenges with flooding during periods of intense rainfall, leading to the disruption of burial services.
To address this, the Male’ City Council has initiated a plan to elevate the burial grounds by adding sand up to 1.5 feet and constructing a drainage system.
This month, the issue became acute when waterlogged soil at the Hulhumale’ Cemetery made burials impossible, despite surface water receding. Consequently, burial services were temporarily shifted to the Aa Sahara Cemetery in Male’ City. However, funeral prayers continued at the mosque within the Hulhumale’ Cemetery.
In a recent city council meeting, Councilor Ibrahim Shujau from the Hulhumale’ constituency called for a resolution to this problem. Councilor Ahmed Zameer from Mahchangolhi Central proposed the idea of raising the ground level with sand.
The council unanimously agreed to undertake additional measures to refurbish the cemetery. These include completing two toilet blocks, setting up a feeding room, repairing the slabs in the preparation rooms for the deceased, and making the prayer and viewing rooms wheelchair accessible.
During the flooding episodes at Hulhumale’, burials are conducted at the Aa Sahara Cemetery, with funeral prayers held in Hulhumale’, causing inconvenience to the community and spurring the council to seek solutions.
Currently, the Aa Sahara Cemetery is also facing limitations as its mosque is undergoing maintenance and cannot host funeral prayers.