CHENNAI: Most cemeteries in the city are weighed down by space crunch and the more number of deaths recorded during the pandemic only exacerbated the situation.
Recently, the corporation’s health standing committee inspected the privately maintained Christian cemetery in ward 124 of Teynampet zone at the request of Our Lady of Guidance Church. After an inspection, the cemetery, which spans around six acres, was declared unfit for fresh burials due to lack of space and residents were advised to approach other corporation cemeteries.
S Bosco Alangar Raj, secretary of The Madras Cemeteries Board Trust said the Kasimedu Christian cemetery is also marching towards a similar fate, having met with around 200 burials in a month during the peak of Covid-19 in 2021.
“We expect it to reach its full capacity within six months. We, not only carry out burials of all denominations of Christians but we also did not send back even a single body during Covid-19 in Kasimedu in the hopes that the government will see fit to allocate us a fresh piece of land by the time it reaches full capacity,” said Alangar Raj.
He added that they were only seeking land on the outskirts, in areas like Ponnamallee, Madhavaram or Karapakkam, where 6x3 feet plots may be marked and reserved for new burials. With a freshly allocated five-acre plot, they can run the cemetery smoothly for the next 10-15 years, he said.
At Kilpauk, fresh burials have already been stopped. While a multi-tier vault system is in place in Kilpauk, it got filled nearly six years ago. Although the vault was set to be unsealed in 2020 after the lapse of 14 years as mandated, it was delayed due to the pandemic. The board has written to the city health officer to inspect so that the vault can be reopened.
Near Pallavan house, the caretaker of a cemetery managed by St Mary’s Church said, “We only accept one or two fresh burials in a year. Most Christian cemeteries in the city including the one in Pattinampakkam are full,” he said.
In an attempt to salvage the situation, the corporation, in November, halved the mandated time for opening the graves with coffins for reburials from 14 years to seven and for graves without coffins, to a year of burial.