To tide over shortage of land, Christian cemetery in Indore comes up with multi-tier, reusable graves

Four bodies can be buried in four layers one over the other, while the lowest tier will be kept empty for mortal remains to be placed after five or more years, Indore Catholic Diocese's Bishop said

Indore: A total of 64 multi-tier, reusable graves have been built in a Christian cemetery in Indore in Madhya Pradesh in order to tide over the shortage of land for burials.

Four bodies can be buried in four layers one over the other, while the lowest tier will be kept empty for mortal remains to be placed after five or more years, Indore Catholic Diocese’s Bishop Chako Thottumarickal told PTI.

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“These 64 five-tier graves have been built in Kanchan Bagh cemetery. The work was completed on July 1. After remnants are put in the lowest compartment, we will get space for four more bodies. This idea was finalised through consensus after we sought advice from the community for solutions to tackle land shortage for burials,” he said.

These graves are 4.5 feet wide, 6.5 feet long and have a 16-foot pit with multiple layers as well as space for headstone inscriptions, he said, adding that such an arrangement may be a first for the country.

Queried about sprinkling of soil on the body by loved ones and whether the new multi-tier graves are compatible with this tradition, the bishop said, “In these modern graves, flowers would be showered. Some people from our community think there is an emotional bond when we put soil over the body but with changing times, we are ready to adopt this innovation.” More such multi-tier graves will come up in three phases to allow burial of 1,000 bodies, he said.

“The Catholic community has another cemetery in Juni area of Indore but that too has run out space. So now burials are taking place in Kanchan Bagh. Some 100 burials take place annually here,” he said.