Village cemeteries found to be outside the law in Vitebsk region

July 18, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The Vitebsk Regional Committee of State Control states the unsatisfactory state of affairs in the organization of funeral services in the territory of the Oktyabrsky Rural Council of the Vitebsk District, where 16 cemeteries are located, the regional KGB reported to a BELTA correspondent.

During the inspection of the Oktyabrsky Rural Executive Committee, violations of the law "On Burial and Funeral Business" were noted. Thus, the procedure for the functioning of cemeteries has not been determined, the procedure for the allocation and reservation of land plots for burial has not been established, and land plots for burial do not have registration numbers. The rural executive committee does not keep records of burials, and control over burials is not carried out. Passporting of cemeteries and inventory of burials were not carried out, as this work was not assigned to any specialized organization.

As noted in the KGB, "in simple terms, rural cemeteries turned out to be outside the law." And this problem is characteristic of many rural districts.

During the inspections of operating cemeteries in the villages of Shapyry and Baryshino, Vitebsk District, it was established that sanitary norms are not met: there is no public toilet, garbage collection areas, and fencing of the territory; the outskirts of both cemeteries are littered with garbage along the perimeter. Conditions for conducting funeral rites have not been created, and due to the lack of fencing, burials are carried out unsystematically. Passages to burial sites are not paved, which makes it difficult for funeral processions to pass in autumn and winter.

Based on the results of the inspection, the KGB has highlighted the problem of cemetery operation organization to the Vitebsk District Executive Committee. Currently, the issue of transferring cemeteries to the maintenance of a housing and communal services enterprise is being resolved. -0-