RAWALPINDI- Residents are facing severe difficulties in burying their dead due to a shortage of graveyards.

There are 53 graveyards in the city of Rawalpindi, of which 31 are in the municipal area while the remaining 22 are located in the cantonment areas.

Several people have reserved land in the graveyards in the city while the remaining residents face an acute shortage of space.

Several residents from different localities of Rawalpindi complained that most graveyards were established by the local inhabitants and remain under the control of local 'mohalla' (neighbourhood) committees, and that these committees allow burial only to those who pay for the upkeep 'mohalla' graveyard.

Negligence on the part of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA)  is one of the reasons that this problem has become so acute as neither authorities looked into this matter while developing several housing societies.

Residents have demanded of Chief Minister Punjab and other concerned persons to allocate government land for grave yards so that they can bury their dead without any inconvenience.