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Various burial options need to be
considered - like cremation and second burials - as space for new burials is running out at Johannesburg's cemeteries.
WITH about four million people living in
Joburg, burial space is inevitably a concern; and as cemeteries are fast filling
up, City Parks is encouraging residents to look for other options.
City Parks has a database that contains records of burials in Joburg cemeteries
In addition to different burial options,
land must be found to expand existing cemeteries or to build new ones.
Of Joburg's 35 cemeteries, 27 are full;
however, they are called "passive cemeteries" as they can still accommodate
second and third burials, says Alan Buff, the technical support manager and a
horticultural specialist at City Parks.
In the last two years, 22 000 people have
either been buried or cremated in Joburg, with 72 percent of all burials taking
place in the south.
City Parks, the City-owned utility
responsible for cemeteries and crematoriums, has obtained an additional 860
hectares of land for burial space, made up of 260 hectares in Diepsloot, 200
hectares in Midrand at the Waterval Cemetery, 200 hectares in the south next to Avalon Cemetery,
and 200 hectares in Eldorado
Park.
Added to existing cemeteries, this new
burial land will last approximately 50 more years, says Buff.
Demand
To meet demand, two new cemeteries were built - one in Diepsloot and another in
Waterval - in 2007. In addition to the new burial grounds, families have been
encouraged to explore other burial options, says Buff. At present, 20 percent
of people are using alternative options and 10 percent are choosing cremations.
In the first quarter of 2009, cremations increased by 16 percent, possibly because they
are relatively cheaper.
City Parks has invited ministers to view
alternative options so that they can spread the word about other burial options. It has also distributed
over 40 000 magazines to educate people, to ward councillors, community centres and cemetery officers in other municipalities.
Joburg offers standard first burials;
second burials, available to family members; reduction burials; mausoleums; and
cremations, with various options for placing the ashes, such as memorial walls
and gardens, and ash graves. It has three crematoriums, in Lenasia, Brixton and
Braamfontein. Second burials are burials in the same grave about 12 years after
the first burial.
City Parks has three crematoriums, in Lenasia, Brixton and Braamfontein
The trend, says Buff, is moving towards
options such as pro-mation, or the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze corpses -
an option not yet offered by City Parks; reduction burials, which involve
exhuming the remains from a grave and placing them in a small coffin, which is
then reburied, allowing more room for burial in the same location; mausoleums, a
burial option in areas where the soil is too rocky to dig graves, which are placed
in a mausoleums above the ground; and memorial walls.
Newer options are being explored in
countries such as the United
States: reduced-space coffins; upright
burials; deep-freeze liquid nitrogen in which the corpse is placed in a tube
and injected with liquid nitrogen; ultrasound reduction, which is used after
liquid nitrogen to reduce bone ash structure; and laser cremation.
"Increasingly important are both burial
space and the aspect of providing environmentally friendly and sound methods of
burial," Buff explains.
Population changes
Joburg's ever-changing population and mortality rates are important for the planning
of burial locations as getting approval for cemeteries is a lengthy process,
says Buff. City Parks has been tackling these statistics and under the City's
2030 vision, plans are in place for new burial methods and new cemeteries to
accommodate the increased demand.
"With the influx of immigrants into South Africa
and associated mortality rates increasing, an additional burden is placed on
the City's cemeteries and crematoria," says Buff. "In the past 14 years,
burials and cremations in Johannesburg
have more than doubled."
City Parks has a database that
contains records of burials in Joburg cemeteries and keeps track of the dates
of birth and death and the full names of the deceased. Also in the database is gender,
race, age and cause of death. Family and friends can use this service to track
their loved ones.
History
"The first burial grounds in Joburg," Buff notes, "were farm cemeteries for
farmers and their workers." As the town leapt into existence with the gold
rush, it quickly required new burial facilities and the first cemetery was set
up in a space today bordered by Bree, Diagonal and Harrison
streets in the CBD.
In 1996, the various cemeteries operated by
the previous municipalities that formed the City of Johannesburg, were brought together under
City Parks, bringing the number to 35 cemeteries. In that year, original
cemeteries were allocated 626 hectares of land.
Four years later, in 2000, there were three
million people living in Joburg with 20 000 dying; of these, 3 000 were cremated
and 17 000 were buried.
Log on to the City Parks
website to find out about
the cemeteries in Joburg, rates and procedures. Call the cemeteries call centre
on 011 712 6602 or for queries call 011 712 6673, alternatively email Nooreena
Hendricks on
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
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