A first of its kind survey of burial grounds in the city has led to the discovery of over 50 such grounds unknown to the civic body.
As per its records, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has 132 burial grounds and 13 crematoriums. But the ongoing survey has revealed that there are more than 180 burial grounds in the city limits, with many not even fenced, thus left vulnerable to encroachments and anti-social activities.
But the burial grounds and crematoriums in Bengaluru are slated for a ₹150-crore facelift, which will be announced in the BBMP budget. The survey is being taken up as a pre-budget exercise, officials said.
M.K. Gunashekhar, chairman of the standing committee on taxation and finance, BBMP, said the overhaul of burial grounds has been his ambition for long. “In the first phase, all of them will be fenced; compound walls will be built and secured. We have decided to hand over the burial grounds to the horticulture department within the civic body in order to maintain them like parks,” he said.
Vinay Nandeesh, the consultant hired for the survey and revamp of burial grounds, said the grounds discovered were in the 110 villages added to the BBMP in 2007. “We are now working with village revenue maps to establish claim over the grounds and fence them. Most of them have been encroached upon and residents [have] requested us to save what’s remaining,” he said.
The BBMP is now working on a detailed project report (DPR) for giving a facelift to the grounds. This would include developing them into park-like lung spaces with adequate facilities.
Hotspots for crime
Unlike a few well-known burial grounds in the core of the city, those in the outer zones are neglected, the survey has revealed. “In over 150 burial grounds, there is no water facility and garbage disposal mechanism. But the biggest problem we found was that most of these grounds are not fenced and don’t have streetlights, making them hotspots for crime at night,” Mr. Nandeesh said.
In fact, many of the grounds in the core city area too don’t have streetlights and water facilities.
He added that the survey has revealed that of the 13 electric crematoriums in the city, 12 don’t have functional pollution control devices, causing them to emit acrid black smoke. “Work on replacing the pollution control scrubbers in the chimneys of these crematoriums has begun, and already completed at two,” he said.
The BBMP budget will also include a permanent solution to the long-standing impasse over grave diggers, who are paid meagre sums as honorarium, that too rarely. A survey on grave diggers is also under way, and they are likely to be hired as contract workers with the BBMP, sources said.
No place for the dead
Though the civic body has discovered more burial grounds that fall under its purview, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the biggest problem Bengaluru faces is lack of space for the dead.
The survey has revealed that Harischandra Ghat near Malleswaram, Karisandra burial ground in Banashankari, Bada Makhan burial ground and the Christian cemetery in Shantinagar, and Kalpalli burial ground are all out of space for new bodies. In fact, there is also a huge supply-demand gap even in crematoriums in the city.
“While Bengaluru’s population has doubled over the last two decades, it has been several years since the city set up a new burial ground. It’s myopic of the BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) to have not set aside any land for this in the Revised Master Plan-2015. I have written to the BDA asking that land be earmarked for new burial grounds in the upcoming RMP-2031,” said M.K. Gunashekhar, chairman of the standing committee on taxation and finance, BBMP.
The civic body has written to the State government and district administration to make available for burial grounds some of the land it had recovered during the encroachment removal drives over the past two years. There is also a proposal to install six electric crematoriums, including in HSR Layout, Ramamurthy Nagar, Cox Town and Maruti Seva Nagar.