Dead rest uneasy as graveyards run out of space

In a space-jammed city and suburbs, the pattern of opening and closing did not work for a graveyard – the existing body had not fully decomposed.

Mumbai: In the evening of August 14, after a funeral prayer was conducted at the gates of the Deonar Sunni Muslim Qabrastan, the men lifted the coffin draped in orange cloth and carried it into the graveyard to bury the body inside an already occupied grave. The Deonar cemetery, which is on the side of a dusty and noisy Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road, opposite the slums of Baingandwadi, Govandi, was reopened on August 10 since its closure 18 months ago – the minimum time required for a body to decompose after which a grave can be reused for another body.

The Pankesha Baba graveyard in Ghatkopar with an area of 1.5 acre, caters to a Muslim population of over 20 lakh, extending to areas of Pantanagar, Golibar, Vikhroli and Powai. They have requested the civic body to join the recreational ground adjacent to the cemetery for more space. (HT Photo)

In a space jammed city and suburbs, this and other graveyards have reached their capacity time and again, following which they have been compelled to follow the pattern of opening and closing. But earlier this week, even this plan did not work – the existing body had not fully decomposed.

“We can see everything. The fingers are of different lengths – each decomposed to a different extent,” said Ajmer Shah, a gravedigger. “There is no space, and there is pressure on us too to ensure bodies continue to be buried.”

Graveyards have been facing overcrowding since a decade, and in many cases, parts of graveyard lands taken up for infrastructure projects have added to the problem.

In fact, a petition will be heard in the Bombay High Court on August 22, where petitioner Shamsher Ahmed Shaikh, a Govandi resident, has requested the adjoining land next to the Deonar cemetery be made a part of the graveyard. This was even recommended by the municipal commissioner and director of town planning in June, 2021, but as the state government cancelled the reservation of the land in November 2022, without any plausible reason, the matter has been hanging in limbo. Over and above this, said Altaf Khan, Shaikh’s lawyer, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) has also set aside part of the reserved cemetery land next to their ongoing project.

The old and new

To make way for new bodies in graves, administrations of graveyards “double stack” bodies, after putting a fresh layer of soil over the previous bodies. Unfortunately, this has led to fresh bodies being buried in far shallower graves of around three feet deep, prompting fears that they can be easily sniffed out and dug up by dogs.

The urgency, however, to reopen the Deonar graveyard and begin burials, was prompted by the closure of the only other large graveyard in the area, the Rafi Nagar graveyard, in June due to a similar issue of “kachcha” bodies. Cases of delayed decomposition have driven both citizens and graveyard administrations to helplessness. Abdul Rehman Shah, who is on the management committee of Deonar graveyard, puts it simply – time taken for decomposition depends on body mass. Another resident has claimed that the soil is often mixed with beach sand which slows down decomposition. On the other hand, deputy municipal commissioner Harshad Kale said, “The wood laid on the sides of the body interferes with the process of decomposition.”

The delay in decomposition in the freshly opened Deonar grave, explained BMC’s medical health officer of M East ward, Dr Sanjay Phundre and civic engineer Ramesh Deshmukh, was because this and similar others found wrapped up in a plastic bag may have been Covid bodies. Body bags used during Covid are eating into the space for graves. For instance, in the municipal Christian cemetery in Sewri, 200 of the 1,200 graves now cannot be reused anytime soon for this reason.

Christians in the city who have run out of church cemetery space are turning to municipal cemeteries. On the other hand, in graveyards such as the one in Sewri, many graves are family owned, which adds to the space crunch. The threat of space constraint has resulted in several pragmatic changes -- while earlier, one could purchase graves, today, citizens have to enter into an agreement of a 10-year lease. The option of lease, which was stopped during Covid, was reintroduced in July, said the administrator of the Sewri Christian cemetery, Jocelyn Perreira.

Another option used these days is the practice of exhuming bodies after two years and transferring the remains into niche boxes made of cement and kadappa stones resembling little cabinets. They are stacked along the sides of the graveyard for loved ones to visit.

Many churches are encouraging people not to use teakwood coffins to keep the dead before burial. Apart from being expensive, they also take years to decompose. Churches are now going a step further – they are educating citizens and offering the possibility of shroud burials and cremations.

“Church cemeteries in Vasai, for instance, only offer the option of shroud burials,” said resident of the suburb, Darryl Periera. “The sole municipal cemetery in Vasai is liaising with churches to offer space to accommodate more bodies,” said Father Onil. Some are even opting to cremate the dead, in a break from tradition.

Sticking to the old

It’s not easy to give up the old ways, as evidenced in Sewri cemetery, where coffin burials are still prevalent, said Perreira. However, if graves aren’t purchased, they are reused within three years, after the skeletal remains are collected and placed in a hole in the grave.

“The problem of space is genuine. The churches were small communities in the past, so the commissions for graves were limited. But migration into the suburbs has increased in recent years, leading to paucity of space,” said Nigel Barrett, the spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Bombay.

In fact, while citizens of south Mumbai have the option of municipal graveyards in Sewri, Sion and Mahalaxmi, those in the suburbs do not have this privilege.

For instance, the Orlem church cemetery has 300 graves at present and cannot accommodate anymore, said parish priest Father Reuben Tellis. “So, only graves bought by families can be re-used for the dead within the families. The rest go to the municipal cemetery at Charkop, which is also at the risk of running out of space.”

Death registration officer on duty at Charkop, Pandit Yadav, said, “I have to hunt for space to accommodate the bodies that come in, and often send them to other municipal cemeteries.”

“Municipal graveyards are few,” pointed out Barrett, adding, no single cemetery can serve the population thriving along the western express highway. Families have travel distances, which adds to the cost of funerals. Barrett referenced how over the past two months, residents of Govandi were compelled to travel eight kilometres to the Chadda Nagar graveyard, in Chembur, to bury the dead.

Failure of government

Various allocations in the development plan (DP) for more cemetery space have remained on paper only. Barrett pointed to a municipal cemetery in Mulund, which was given after a fight between the citizens and government that stretched for 30 years. Another space allocated in Goregaon East is being used as a dumping ground for vehicles.

“Residents from Goregaon, Irla, Andheri East and West, which have at least 15 parishes, have to come to the cemetery in Oshiwara. Not many people can afford that,” said resident Alex D’Souza, adding he plans to donate his body for organ donation.

“Despite an HC order in 2017, instructing the state government to give Christians a cemetery space of 5,000 square meters after an allotment in Kandivali East was overtaken by the Metro, it is yet to be actualized,” said Dolphy D’Souza of Bombay Catholic Sabha.

“When the government asks for church land for development purposes, we comply. But the same courtesy isn’t extended to the needs of the community,” added Barrett. “The very fact that we need to fight for these spaces, shows how certain communities are considered second class citizens.”

A similar problem exists in Govandi, where three plots of land have been allotted for graveyards, but one was cancelled by the state government without any reason. Another parcel of a private land owned by Union Carbide is caught in a maze of discussions within government agencies. A third has been delayed as it is located on the dumping ground and will require much work to convert.

The Muslim Qabrastan Trust in Ghatkopar has also been trying to add more space to the graveyard in Pankesha Baba, since 2010. Altaf Hussain Munshi, a trustee, pointed out, “The graveyard of 1.25 acres caters to a Muslim population of over 20 lakh, extending to areas of Ghatkopar, Pantanagar, Golibar, Vikhroli, Powai and more.” They have requested the civic body to join the recreational ground adjacent to the cemetery, but no decision has been taken yet.

The Chedda Nagar graveyard, which reached its capacity due to the influx of bodies from Govandi on August 4, has similarly requested for the empty land from the Public Works Department (PWD) bordering the graveyard. “Any amount of space would help,” said Shafik Rehmani, who is on the management committee of the graveyard.