The Covid-19 pandemic is seriously affecting the world in different ways, one of them being the collapse of many cemeteries, including some across the Vega Baja, caused by the increase in deaths.
Orihuela Costa does not have a Cemetery which is one more item to add to the list of missing facilities and services not provided by the Orihuela City Council. This is one of the long standing demands made by local political party C.L.A.R.O on behalf of the Coast. This one however, is so important that several other parties that have included it in their electoral programmes.
The residents of the Costa who have to bury their relatives are in real trouble, since because we don’t have a cemetery in our area – the one in Orihuela city is at least 40 km away – they then have to try to find a burial place in nearby neighbouring municipalities. These often have severe restrictions on access to a place, and are often conditional on being registered on the padron of that municipality. Neighbouring municipalities are also being obliged to extend their cemeteries under the pressure of increasing Covid deaths and have a scarcity of burial plots.
Orihuela Costa has more than 25,000 registered residents and a further 20,000 more who are not registered for different reasons, but reside and pay their taxes. A large majority of these, especially European Residents are classed as elderly. The lack of a cemetery in Orihuela Costa, which practically all Spanish cities and towns have, constitutes an increasingly serious problem and joins the long list of deficiencies in services that local residents suffer such as lack of a decent Library, a multicultural centre, a second Health Centre, an Emergency Services Centre, or even a pedestrian bridge over the AP7…to name but a few and for which CLARO has been battling for many years.
More and more voices are complaining about the lack of a cemetery for Orihuela Costa.
The CLARO President said: “An example of this is the case of local resident Fernando whose wife sadly passed away a few months ago and who had to let her spend more than a week in the chambers of the funeral home, due to the difficulty in finding a burial place. Finally Fernando found a dignified place in Los Montesinos where she now rests in peace. We also know of several cases of Costa residents who have not been as lucky as Fernando to find a resting place for their relatives and end up having to cremate them, despite it sadly going against the last wishes of the deceased.”
Cambiemos and CLARO, given the purported great difficulty for the Orihuela City Council to find a suitable plot for a cemetery on the coast, and with the Torrevieja cemetery close to Orihuela Costa, think it possible that an agreement could be reached with the City Council of Torrevieja to study a possible expansion of its cemetery which could offer a joint service, with spaces reserved for registered residents in Orihuela Costa, and others for those registered in Torrevieja.