The Hindu : National : Full up at a cemetery

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 17, 2005

National

National

Full up at a cemetery

By S. Vydhianathan

At the entrance to the Kilpauk Cemetery. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI, MARCH 16. There is grave news for Chennai's substantial Christian population. The century-old Kilpauk Cemetery here will be closed for fresh burials from April 1: there is no space left. The decision to close the cemetery was taken at a meeting of the Madras Cemeteries Board recently. The Board has instead decided to construct an electric crematorium at the cemetery.

According to records available, the sprawling burial ground, bang in the heart of the city, has completed 102 years of existence. It recently observed its centenary. But a tombstone in a far corner of the cemetery records the death of a man in the 18th century.

50,000 graves

Bosco Alangar Raj, secretary of the Madras Cemeteries Board, told The Hindu that there were about 50,000 graves in the 6.4-hectare, leafy cemetery. More than three lakh bodies lie buried here. On an average, six to seven were being interred daily in the last five years.

For the last one year, the cemetery authorities were permitting only those who were ready to build a cement enclosure and bury the body to use the cemetery as it would facilitate interring another body at the same place within a year. They were not allowing mud graves as in such instances another body could be buried in the same place only after 14 years as per the Chennai Corporation rules. The cemetery authorities had written to the Corporation requesting it to reduce the period from 14 years to five.

Bishops' consent

The Board had decided to construct an electric crematorium in the cemetery to cremate bodies instead of burying them. The Archbishop of Madras Mylapore and the Bishop of the Church of South India had given their consent for the break from tradition and custom. The City Corporation's permission had been sought to set up the crematorium. Family members would be given lockers at the cemetery to keep the ashes of their relatives.

Dr. Alangar Raj said the board was computerising the records of those who were buried in the cemetery and had recorded the details of at least 80,000 cases. It is planning to upload these records onto a website.

The secretary said that a similar space constraint would hit the Quibble Island Cemetery in the city soon.

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