Neglected graves are a new business niche: Lithuanians also pay 140 euros a year



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It is true that the municipality of Panevėžys still rejected the stigmatizing tables of shame, although the practice of some municipalities has shown that it is an effective way of encouraging negligent people to take care of themselves.

Laura Jankevičienė, chief specialist of the City Infrastructure Department of the municipality of Panevėžys, stated that Evening and All Saints’ Day is like an alarm clock: many people clean the graves of their loved ones at least before this holiday . However, municipal specialists prepare a kind of inventory at least three times a year.

“So far, I have only overlooked the Šilaičiai cemetery. I can say that four or five graves have already been ordered and added to the neglected list. Next week, weather permitting, I will also look at the Christ the King Cathedral cemetery, then we will see a general picture, ”said L. Jankevičienė.

After the last such inspection, 208 neglected graves were identified in Christ the King Cemetery and 287 in Šilaičiai Cemetery. Many of them are without monuments or crosses, and the person in charge of the cemetery is unknown. There are also several of those graves in which people eternally rested decades ago. Although the list also includes chapels that were poured only a few years ago.

I don’t want to be without a grave

According to the specialist, the fact that information on unsupervised cemeteries is published on the Municipality’s website or on the information panels at the entrances to the cemetery allows faster access to the people who must supervise them. If they do not see themselves, they report relatives or acquaintances.

“Although some graves, but completely neglected, are declining. When people see or someone informs them of their duty to care, they rush to do so or at least ask their loved ones. Then he calls us to remove it from the list of neglected graves And others wonder if they are not included in this list, “said the chief specialist.

She is considering that many are concerned about handling the graves of their loved ones just because they are afraid of losing the family cemetery. After all, when the cemetery has not been managed for more than a year, the cemetery supervisor gives written notice to the person responsible for its maintenance. And if the situation does not change, after two years, that grave can be given to other people who want to bury their relatives here. True, with some reservations, it is mandatory to preserve the monument found here. And if it has collapsed, engrave the old inscriptions on the new monument.

“So far, no cemetery has been recognized as unmanaged at all, so it can be transferred to other people. It happens that even abandoned cemeteries that have been abandoned for a long time are being fixed, but certainly there is no massive concern for the eternal resting place of their loved ones, ”said L. Jankevičienė.

Not just for emigrants

For several years, many of your loved ones tend to cover the graves of their loved ones with a variety of gravel, tile or granite slabs, and to replace the flowering plants that pamper them with perennials that require almost no maintenance. Then it is enough to visit the cemeteries several times a year.

Others entrust the maintenance of the graves to companies or individuals who provide such services.

Rasa Ašakėnė, manager of the company providing cemetery maintenance services in Lithuania, said that the need for cemetery management services is growing. It is often assumed that these services are used exclusively by migrants or the disabled, but the majority of their clients are people living in Lithuania, but very busy, earning above average income.

Serious care

Serious care

© Sekundė.lt

“We once calculated that retirees and the disabled make up only 10 percent. 30% of our clients, migrants and everyone else, just don’t have time to care for graves, especially when there are many in different parts of Lithuania.” noted R. Ašakėnė.

According to her, grave care prices vary widely, depending on the needs, desires and thickness of the wallet. The price of an arrangement usually starts from 35 euros: this amount includes weeding, raking the leaves, watering the flowers, cleaning the moss from the tombstone and lighting the candle. If you want to plant flowers or place a wreath, the price of the service goes up. When the cemetery is maintained regularly, at least four times a year, the annual price is about 140 euros.

“The needs of customers are very diverse, some want the cemetery to look simply orderly, it is important not to weed and others want a luxury that everyone notices. That’s why prices fluctuate ”, said the interlocutor.

Contributes to retirement

Aldona of Panevėžys, who did not want to make her name public, did not hide that she took care of almost two dozen graves, not only her own, but also those of strangers. The woman said that she has been retired for several years, but does not complain about her health, so she is still working – she manages the territory of an apartment building. The salary is low, but the pension contribution is very good. It also receives additional income from the maintenance of cemeteries at the Cathedral of Christ the King and the Šilaičiai cemetery. It is true that Panevėžys does not consider this activity a business.

“I take care of four family graves. A few years ago, my neighbor needed my help, because he could no longer take care of the graves of his loved ones due to health problems, and then he asked someone else. In this way, the circle was turning little by little, and they learned that I could also be asked for that service, “said Aldona.

Panevėžys made no secret that the reward for this was small, because she had not set specific prices herself. Ask the client to estimate how much he can pay for said work. So sometimes it costs only five and another twenty euros to clean the cemetery.

“If I am going to manage the graves of my husband or my parents, it is not difficult for me to fix others. Even more so because I still have health and the extra money for retirement will not combine. But even without money, I do it. If I see one Overgrown, abandoned grave nearby, I just can’t get through. Even after death, we deserve respect, “Aldona said.



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