New shed eases cremation struggles

For years, rainy weather made funeral preparations difficult for families using the Tabia Sanatan Cemetery in Labasa, with committee members having to source dry firewood from a landowner for cremations.

That struggle is expected to ease following the construction of a tin-roofed storage shed funded through a $10,000 grant from the Ministry of Multi-Ethnic Affairs.

Cemetery committee trustee Jitendra Lal Sharma welcomed the assistance, saying it would allow the committee to store firewood for future cremations.

The cemetery, which has served the community for more than 80 years, has ample pine trees on its leased land.

Mr Sharma said the committee could now harvest wood from those trees and keep it dry in the new storage facility instead of repeatedly approaching a landowner for supplies.

"Instead of arranging every now and then for dry wood to burn the dead bodies, we could harvest pine trees and store wood for longer time in the storage shed," he explained.

Mr Sharma thanked Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs Charan Jeath Singh for approving the committee's application under the ministry's community-based grants programme.

The committee hopes to apply for further assistance to upgrade the road leading to the cemetery and paint its facilities.

Mr Singh said the ministry remained committed to helping religious and community organisations improve their facilities.

"Helping communities improve their way of life either through a renovated place of worship, upgraded cemetery to help grieving families farewell their loved ones without any difficulty remains priority," he said.

The ministry has been allocated $2 million for its multi-ethnic grants programme under the current financial budget.

It has also received 1,000 applications for the next phase of grant distribution under the 2026–2027 budget allocation.

Mr Singh said the Coalition Government's establishment of the ministry had enabled hundreds of communities to receive grants for improvements to their facilities.