Remote villagers are calling on the government to urgently refurbish local mortuary services, citing high transportation costs and erratic power supplies compromise the storage of their deceased loved ones.
Ratu Aporosa Navakaroko of Naqelewai Village and the district representative for Nabobuco said lack of reliable local facilities forced grieving families to endure immense financial and emotional strain.
Mr Navakaroko briefly highlighted his plight while raising this issue to the Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka during a talanoa session after the opening of the Nadarivatu District office this week.
“Our biggest concern is the transporting of bodies to Tavua and sometimes to Ba or Lautoka, that is why we raised this issue regarding our mortuary,” he said.
Currently, families are often left with no choice but to transport bodies long distances before bringing them back home for burial.
“For the current mortuary, at times the power supply is weak, and it affects the storage of bodies, secondly the mortuary is small so hopefully it can be extended.
“There are a lot of people staying here in this area, that is why we need a bigger mortuary to cater for the number of people staying here and the power supply needs to be strengthened so that the bodies can be stored properly.”
Mr Navakaroko said the situation is even more critical for the outlying district of Nabobuco.
Speaking on behalf of his district,Mr Navakaroko appealed to the government to establish a brand-new, dedicated mortuary for his people.
“We are staying far away; it also costs a lot to transport the bodies and then bring them back to have the burial done here.
“My district is a big one,so we’re requesting that the government also provides us with a mortuary.”
