Call To Relocate Park Wood Cemetery Intensified

Residents of Harper, Maryland County, have intensified their calls for the county authorities to urgently relocate the Park Wood Cemetery from the city center.

They warned that severe overcrowding at the site has become unbearable to the extent that it has threatened public health, and undermined the dignity of burial practices.

The cemetery, some residents said, has exceeded its capacity years ago with no available plot left.

The situation has reported forced gravediggers to excavate new graves directly on top of older ones.

Some of the callers said, it has become common for workers to unearth human bones while digging fresh site; practice residents say, is distressful, and disrespectful.

”The space is finished. Everywhere you dig, you meet bones. We cannot continue to bury our people like this,” one of the callers said.

The cemetery’s proximity to residential neighborhoods has intensified health worries. Several residents living near Park Wood said, they depend on shallow, hand-dug wells for drinking water, and daily household use.

They fear that runoff, and seepage from the overcrowded burial ground could contaminate groundwater, and lead to waterborne, or chronic illnesses.

Residents pointed to disease outbreaks in other parts of the region as evidence of what could happen if action is not taken to quickly relocated the cemetery.

They meanwhile, urged the Ministry of Health, and the county administration to intervene before “a preventable public health crisis” occurs.

“This is about health, but it’s also about respect for the dead, and for the living. Our families deserve a decent place to lay their loved ones to rest.”

They also called for temporary measures, including enforcing burial guidelines and restricting new interments at Park Wood until a new site is secured.

Local authorities have not yet commented publicly on a timeline for relocation, but community leaders say, they will continue to push the issue until a concrete plan is put in place.