Valentin METODIEV
"Archangel stew in Sofia. I had never seen the cemetery so illuminated. And the sun helped and the policemen helped. But mostly the faces of the people I passed talked about. The radiance was in every muscle of their faces.
Either they went to thank their loved ones or they were returning from meeting them.
I saw my people.
I also put a flower on the grave of the legend Emil Dimitrov, because you know his testaments, written by Ilya Velchev: If you gave, if you gave even a crumb of your bread to the hungry or if you are an enemy of the mean, but you listen to him alone road...
May God have mercy on our loved ones. We are Them and They are Us!"
This is what the popular presenter Niki Kanchev wrote on Facebook.
Indeed, metropolitan cemeteries look different. Thousands of Sofia residents noticed the change, and it is huge.
Even at the beginning of his mandate almost a year ago, Vasil Terziev announced that the condition of the cemetery parks was one of his priorities and he personally took up the cause of bringing them back to normal.
There followed a change in the management of the cemetery and a lot of work. The central Sofia cemetery was completely cleaned, tons of garbage, fallen branches and brush were removed. Part of the lighting was also replaced.
Efforts were also made to clean the graves of the great Bulgarian cultural figures. The whole plot was transformed.
Over 80 tons of green waste were removed from the cemetery parks before Zadushnica.
Stolichna Municipality organizes the cleaning of the cemetery parks. The activity is carried out by the “Green Systems” and OP Parks and City Gardens”
To date, more than 80 tons of green waste have been removed. For comparison with the previous Zadushnitsa, when the “Central Sofia Cemetery” was completely cleaned, the green waste removed was about 50 tons.
From September 24, a major cleaning of the "Malashevtsi" cemetery park began. from grasses, shrubs and tree shoots. According to the employees of the cemetery park, this was the most neglected cemetery on the territory of the Metropolitan Municipality. Literally, the vegetation covered all the plots and it was impossible to reach 80% of the grave sites.
The clearing of cut grass and bushes is still ongoing, and it will continue after Zadusnica. More than 50 people are organized, who daily take branches from the plots and transport them to the designated locations.
At the moment, about 70 plots have been completely cleaned, and the cleaning of the remaining 30 is ongoing. In addition to the action, which is ongoing and will continue even after Zadushnitsa in the "Malashevtsi" cemetery park, the cleaning of a part of the "Copper Factory" cemetery park has also begun. 8 plots have been cleaned there so far, and the work will continue after the commemoration.
Construction has also started on a total of 4 urn walls. At the moment, in the “Central Sofia Cemetery, the urn niches are exhausted and many citizens are waiting for the construction of the walls so that they can place the urns with the ashes of their relatives in them. By the middle of next month, the first of a total of 3 walls on its territory will be ready in CSG. The remaining two at CSG and one at the Copper Factory will be ready by the end of October.
At the request of the citizens, in the extension of the “Central Sofia Cemetery”, a temporary fountain has been built so that visitors can have access to running water near the burial places of their loved ones.
The asphalting of the extension of the “Central Sofia Cemetery”, which should begin in the first half of next year, has also been moved forward. There are currently over 10,000 grave sites in this part of the cemetery park, with attendance being the highest in this part of the park.
"There really is a huge change. It's much cleaner, neater and greener, despite autumn. The cemeteries looked terrible, the place brought even more sadness and grief. I hope they keep it up. The attitude towards the dead is an indicator of the state of society" commented the retired teacher Maria Harizanova, who came to the grave of a loved one.
However, there is still much work to be done. The mayor's program includes renovation of the alleys, new landscaping, complete replacement of the lighting.
Efforts are directed not only to the central Sofia cemetery, but to all cemetery parks in Sofia.
The task is difficult, and the problems have been accumulating for tens of years. It is no secret to anyone that the cemetery was also a refuge for mafia interests until recently.
At the end of 2023, a NOVA investigation showed how undertakers were extorting relatives of the deceased in Sofia. It turned out that a criminal group was selling the gold teeth and clothes of the deceased.
In the column "On the tracks" Veronika Dimitrova talked about trade in burial places, racketeering, extortion, allegations of corpses being picked and buried in the Central Sofia Cemetery. A recording was provided to NOVA, requesting BGN 3,000 for "preserving a grave site". But such a concept does not exist in the law.
This is how the mandate of the newly elected mayor Terziev began. By fighting the mafia. The cemeteries and garbage of Sofia turned out to be a cozy place for criminal interests and corruption. After a year there is a change.