Residents close to the "Mile Eleven" cemetery at New Bortianor off the Kasoa-Winneba road have vowed not to quit their homes despite the health hazard posed by the mass burials at the cemetery. They say they would only leave when they are relocated by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) or other appropriate bodies. Their decision comes in the wake of a warning by Dr Simpson Anim Boateng, Metropolitan Public Health Director, that their continued stay there was dangerous as most people buried there died from highly contagious diseases. A resident, Araba Afful, 55, told the Times yesterday that although the stench from the mass burial site was appalling she had nowhere else to go because her-long savings went into the building of her house. "I acquired this land legally through the Chief of Bortianor and registered it at the Lands Commission and no untoward actions will deprive me and my family of where to lay our head," she said. She said she will quit the area only if the government relocates her and the other residents. Madam Araba said the AMA would do well to relocate the cemetery because it is situated right in their midst. Mr Osei Gyamfi, a Civil Engineer, who has lived in the area for 15 years, however thinks that the cemetery should not be moved but rather the AMA should maintain it well. "The graves should be dug deep and dead bodies properly embalmed so they do not decomposed early", he suggested. He said that the AMA should engage more cemetery attendants to maintain the site. The Chief of Bortianor, Afutukye-Nii Saka Allotey, said-that it was wrong for the AMA to say that the residents were illegally occupying the land surrounding the cemetery. “We sold the land to the people legally after negotiations with the government. If AMA does not properly maintain the grave yard we will advise ourselves,” he warned. He refuted claims by the AMA that the 200-acre land was acquired by government for mass burials or a cemetery. That the Times on Wednesday, April 29, reported the story of the exposure decomposing bodies in mass graves at the cemetery after the top soil was washed by rains. Source: Times