After M East ward, Muslim graveyards face space crunch in N Ward

Muslim cemeteries in Mumbai's N Ward, including Ghatkopar and Chembur, are facing a space crunch, with the Pankeshah Baba Muslim Cemetery full and the Kamraj Nagar Cemetery only having space for 50 more burials. The Pankeshah Baba Muslim Cemetery has been reusing old graves that are a year old, while the Kamraj Nagar Cemetery is facing a shortage of space since the closure of the Rafi Nagar graveyard. The Muslim population in the area has increased, leading to the need for additional burial space.

Mumbai: After the M East ward, Muslim cemeteries in the neighbouring N Ward, covering Ghatkopar and Chembur, are now facing a space crunch.

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A report by the Public Health Department of the N Ward has alerted that no space remains in the Pankeshah Baba Muslim Cemetery, while the only other Muslim cemetery in the ward, Kamraj Nagar Cemetery, has space only for 50 more burials.

The bigger of the two graveyards, the Pankeshah Baba Muslim Cemetery, has been tackling space issues for at least five years now.

“There is no empty space in the graveyard. “Now, when we get bodies, we reuse the old graves that are a year old,” said Altaf Hussain, the secretary of the trust which runs the graveyard.

Asked if there is a concern that the bodies will not be completely decomposed as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) prescribes a minimum period of 18 months for decomposition, he says they take care not to disturb those bodies. “The retili matti we use is mixed with some salts, which speeds up the decomposition process.”

Mohammad Ismail, caretaker, pointed out that every three years - last done in 2021 - the cemetery has been laying a new layer of soil over the existing graves, raising the height of the graveyard bit by bit.

Hussain said the trust had requested the BMC for additional space to be added to the graveyard from the adjoining BMC recreational ground around five years ago, and the process for it is close to completion.

“The Muslim population in this area has steadily increased, with the new towers built. In keeping with it, the space for graveyards is less. We get bodies from Vikhroli, some from Powai, Surya Nagar, Pankesha, Ghatkopar, Chiraj Nagar, Nityanand Nagar, Kachar Patti, and more. And it is understandable, as the graveyard is 70 years old and many people want their families buried together,” said Hussain.

On the other hand, the shortage in the Kamraj Nagar cemetery, also referred to as the Chedda Nagar cemetery, is recent.

“We barely have space left for a month. After that, if we dig other graves for more space it will come with a big risk, as they have only been buried for six months. We’ve been facing a shortage of space ever since the Rafi Nagar graveyard in Govandi was shut in June,” said Mohammed Shafique, from the management of the graveyard.

HT had reported on June 10 that the BMC had shut the Rafi Nagar graveyard as partially decomposed bodies were found on digging graves to make space for new bodies, even after the minimum stipulated time of 18 months.

This is reflected in the report, as the number of bodies buried in the cemetery spiked to 45 in June, while the figures of previous months are typically below 10. The number of bodies buried till June 23 was 82, already surpassing the number buried in the entire year of 2022 and 2021, at 49 and 57 respectively.

Shafique added, “We get bodies from Kamraj Nagar, Pestom Sagar, Gulshan Nagar, and Chedda Nagar. But now we’re also accommodating bodies from Mankurd, Lallubhai Compound, Shivaji Nagar, and the other areas of Govandi.”

He added that they had faced issues with space previously in the lockdown, when the graveyards in Govandi were similarly shut. Shafique’s request to the BMC is for more space for the graveyard from the adjacent empty PWD plot, where even a 10 square metre plot would suffice.

For the residents of Govandi, this has added another worry about the destination of the dead bodies from their ward, as after the closure of the Rafi Nagar graveyard and Deonar graveyard, they have been instructed to take their bodies to the Chedda Nagar graveyard.