Temporary service booths have been set up in public cemeteries that have plans to be relocated, the Taipei Mortuary Services Office said yesterday, after a city councilor revealed that some residents were confused about the relocation plans, as they had no information about moving the graves.
As the Jingmei (景美) 5th and 13th and Neihu (內湖) 3rd public cemeteries are to be relocated, the city government has set up number plates for every grave in them, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chang Shi-gang (張斯綱) said.
However, city residents said that they had just learned about the relocation plan at Neihu 3rd Public Cemetery, and the number plates only have the designated number and the office’s telephone number on them, with no further information or instructions posted nearby, Chang said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
Residents said they saw posters hung up near the cemetery by funeral home companies, mentioning “relocation program including columbarium niche for NT$60,000,” leading them to believe it was the city government’s policy, he said.
The city government should improve its communication about the cemetery and compensation for grave relocation, Chang said.
Advertisements soliciting business are prohibited in the cemeteries, the office said, adding that it would remove advertisements found there, but if funeral home companies set up booths or hang up posters on private land nearby, it can only ask them to remove them.
A temporary service booth has been set up near the entrance to the Neihu 3rd Public Cemetery, which would be open every day until Aug. 15 to answer questions concerning the relocation plan and receive applications for grave relocation services, it said, adding that the booth would also help post compensation and relief-related documents.
Meanwhile, the Taipei Feitsui Reservoir Administration yesterday said it would provide special shuttle boats for people to visit a former residential area on the south bank of the reservoir for tomb sweeping on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Feitsui Reservoir construction project was completed in 1987, and more than 300 households were relocated from the south bank by 2000, but about 20 graves remained on the site, the administration said.
Tomb sweeping activities are expected to increase during the long weekend, the Taipei Fire Department said yesterday, adding that people should not burn paper, set off firecrackers or leave cigarette butts in cemeteries, as they can easily cause fires.
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