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Difficult to find last resting-places in Hanoi

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Fri, 08/07/2009 - 11:59 — myvietnam

Finding “last resting places” for people is now a matter for Hanoi authorities because all cemeteries are full. Encouraging cremation is now a temporary solution.

The local government declared the closure of Van Dien cemetery, the largest in Hanoi, as of July 1, 2010, but it has not identified a place to replace Van Dien.

Only cremation

Located in Thanh Tri district, the 18-hectare Van Dien cemetery has been open for nearly five decades. For many years, this area was a “hot” place for environmental pollution. Hundreds of families in the communes of Vinh Quynh and Tam Hiep are victims of pollution caused by the cemetery.

Hanoi Funeral Ceremony Service Board’s chief Hoang Thanh Thai said that investment in the cemetery’s waste and water treatment systems is insufficient while the cemetery is next to residential areas so environmental damage caused by Van Dien is extensive. Closing this cemetery is an urgent need.

“As of July 2010, Van Dien cemetery will only provide cremation services. Burials will be moved to a new place,” Thai said.

He disclosed that after being closed, Van Dien cemetery will have four new incinerators. It will also be upgraded to become a park.

Most cemeteries in Hanoi, managed by the Hanoi Funeral Ceremony Service Board, are overloaded, Thai said. Thanh Tuoc cemetery in Me Linh district and Yen Ky cemetery in Ba Vi district can only admit new residents for a few more years. Thanh Tuoc cemetery will be out of land for first burials by this year’s end (In Vietnam, dead people are buried twice. The first time when they die and the second time three years later, which is called cai tang or exhumation).

Thai suggested the city encourage cremation to curb environmental pollution and to save land for the living. According to Thai, Hanoi should set up cemeteries for each district but local administrations and local people often don’t like to have cemeteries on their land.

Sacrifice is necessary

Hanoi’s vice chairman Phi Thai Binh told Dat Viet newspaper that the overloaded cemeteries in the city have been discussed for a long time but this is a difficult issue. The biggest difficulty, according to Binh, is getting people to agree.

“Do you want to have a cemetery near your house? Nobody wants that. So we need the agreement, the understanding, the sympathy and the sacrifice of the people, for the interest of the whole community,” Binh said.

The vice chairman said that the Hanoi authorities assigned the Department of Planning and Architecture to combine with the Institute for Construction and Planning to find a new place to replace Van Dien cemetery.

The department suggested two sites, namely Bac Son in Soc Son district and Yen Ky in Ba Vi district. However, the city will not announce their decision until early 2010. The construction of cemeteries in Phu Xuyen, Thuong Tin and Chuong My will be considered.

As people worry about not having a replacement for Van Dien while the cemetery will be closed in July 2010, Binh said: “This is announcement, not an official decision. It shows the city’s determination to have a proper place for Hanoian people.”

According to the Hanoi Funeral Ceremony Service Board, Van Dien cemetery holds around 20-25 funerals a day, including around 15 cases of cremation. On average, the city’s biggest cemetery receives 700 cases, including 500 cremation cases a month.