Governor Pramono Anung said the Rorotan site could be repurposed as a public cemetery because many buried there had no heirs. He instructed the Parks and City Forest Agency to open new public spaces and facilities.
"One of them is the former COVID-19 burial site," Pramono stated on Friday, noting that many COVID-19 burials, particularly in Rorotan, were not identified by their families.
However, he said that Jakarta currently maintains 11 available burial sites for accommodating new burials.
Agency Head Fajar Sauri confirmed that in addition to utilizing the former COVID-19 land, the city is exploring cooperation with nearby regions.
High land costs in Jakarta make outside collaboration necessary. The agency is seeking cooperation with nearby areas like Depok, West Java, or Tangerang, Banten.
"Hopefully, we can collaborate with the regions," Sauri said.
The agency previously recorded that 69 of Jakarta's 80 public cemeteries had reached maximum capacity. As a result, current cemetery services are restricted to providing overlapping burial services.
This system, which Sauri considered effective in addressing the shortage, allows a maximum of four bodies in one grave. Overlapping burials are only permitted in family graves that are more than three years old.
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Translator: Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Anton Santoso
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