The beauty of the forest is waning because of the haphazard construction of graves in national and community forest areas in Urlabari of Morang district. From Belbari in East Morang to Patharishanishchre town on the northern edge of the forest, concrete graves are standing around the trees. After the passing of their relatives, certain castes have a tradition of constructing concrete graves, which has, of late, become a competitive practice. As a result, the forest areas are now full of concrete graves of various colours.
There are regulations in place stipulating that the graves should be situated at least 50 meters away from the road. However, when these rules are not followed, it leads to an adverse environmental impact, with the once-thick forest beginning to thin out. Some trees have dried up due to the construction of concrete graves while the plants around the concrete graves have started dying.
Following the last rites of the deceased, people of certain religions and castes erect concrete graves with the belief that it would bring peace to the departed soul. However, during the construction of these cemeteries, there is a competition to create the largest and most visually appealing graves, often without due consideration for the environment.
Stakeholders said that the concrete graves built around the highway will spoil the environment. Concrete graves in areas like Belbari, Kanepokhari, Pathari, Urlabari, Damak and the Itahari-Dharan road sections are designed in visually appealing ways. These graves, constructed in proximity to the forest areas, create the impression of a miniature city at first glance.
Kul Bahadur Gurung, President of Shanti Community Forest Consumers Group in Patharishanishare-1, said that they decided to stop building concrete graves in their forest. They took the decision because they realised that the graves, which are meant to honour their culture and remember their parents, were harming the forest. Some Christians have also stopped building concrete graves and now only place small pillars instead.”
Ram Lakhan Thakur, the Information Officer of the Division Forest Office in Morang, mentioned that the disorganised construction of graves as seen in the past has now come to an end. He also said that issues related to religion and culture cannot be completely eliminated all at once, but there has been a noticeable decrease in such activities compared to the past.
In the meantime, the Hariyali Community Forest in Patharishanishchare has replaced a graveyard with a community building and a compost manure storage centre. According to Kabul Bahadur Magar, the forest’s president, they removed 130 graves from the forest area to make way for the community building.
While some communities and religious groups continue to construct concrete graves, the scale of these constructions is smaller than it used to be. Nowadays, they have introduced a requirement to plant a sapling in the place where a grave is built.
