Land sharks eye 19th century cemetery

Major Lionel Langley (39) worked as an engineer with the Irrigation Department in 1890. He was a soldier of the British Raj like his father General Sir C.C. Langley. Lionel suffered wounds in a tiger attack and died here on April 18, 1890, and was buried in a graveyard near Bandar Locks.

Land-sharks who tried to encroach on the forgotten 19{+t}{+h}century cemetery have brought this heritage site to light. The locals refer to the 1.25 acre piece of land in the heart of the city as the French Graveyard, but the names on the tomb stones are all British. The market value of the prime land is said to be over Rs 60 crore.

Also buried in the Cemetery is Mary Pace, 29, wife of Captain Horatio Pace of the 30{+t}{+h}Regiment of the Madras Native Infantry (MNI) of the East India Company. Captain Pace’s wife passed away on October 2, 1843 in Bezawada and was laid to rest in the same cemetery. All 52 Regiments of the MNI remained loyal and passed into the new Indian Army when the British Crown rule replaced the East India Company in 1858.

The tombstones in the graveyard are the only record of these people who lived in the town, with a population of less than 10,000. Similarly, Ten-year-old Walter Cecil, the son of John Boalth Small and Maud Small was buried in the cemetery in 1899.

The tomb of one-year-old daughter of Urijah and Certrude Joyce – Edna Irini Lawrance is also in the cemetery.

Today there is ample evidence that land sharks are trying to encroach on the heritage site. The encroachers have started increasing the level in the compound by dumping debris. They have also started digging a trench on one side to build a compound wall. But for the protests of some activists, all the tombstones would have been covered by debris and have been lost forever.

Attempts to encroach the heritage site came to light when activists of the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) raised a hue and cry on Monday. Activists of other social and political organisations staged a dharna in the cemetery demanding the arrest of the land sharks.

Vijayawada Urban Mandal Revenue Officer R. Siva Rao told the media that the land was currently under the care of the VMC, but a Christian organisation was reportedly trying to build a compound wall.

The identity of those trying to build the wall has yet to be established, he said.