Heavy rains this week have left a casket on its side in an exposed plot at Southern Cemetery, Cowpen and Spikenard Roads. The rains also caused flooding in other excavated grave sites at several other public cemeteries around New Providence. When The Nassau Guardian arrived at Southern Cemetery yesterday, slabs of concrete that usually cover used graves were broken above one of the plots and the casket was on its side. In areas of the graveyard, the rain created sinkholes.  The cemetery's western area was covered with a mixture of waste and debris. Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Public Works Brenda Dorsett told The Nassau Guardian earlier this year that while the ministry is responsible for the general maintenance of public cemeteries, families are responsible for their relatives' grave sites. "When you are buying a grave plot you are buying a deed," she said. "Once their relatives are interred, they should make regular visits to ensure the grave is not in disrepair. "We have attempted to try to educate the public with regard to that (the upkeep of family plots)." She added that the ministry attempted to help families keep their relatives' plots in good condition in the past, but that proved too costly for the government. She admitted, however, that some of the contractors hired to perform maintenance on some of the public cemeteries did not do good work. Those contractors, Dorsett added, were removed last year and others were brought in to replace them this year. The owner of Kurtiss Funeral Home, Randy Curtis, said the heavy rain, coupled with open graves, poses a health risk. Curtis explained that if grave plots are open and caskets are not properly sealed, water that seeps into those caskets and comes in contact with decaying bodies can contaminate the water table. Curtis added that some funeral home owners have taken it upon themselves to maintain some grave sites.

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