New Delhi: Delhi is running out of urban spaces and is facing a crisis in terms of inadequate availability of space for graveyards for Christian community.
According to a report by the Delhi Minorities Commission, the ancient Christian graveyard behind the Red Fort area has disappeared. A large stone cross is all that is left, having information about the graveyard inscribed in them.
The Delhi Minority Commission has taken up the matter and assured the involvement of ASI in the investigation.
The DMC had earlier flagged the scarcity of Muslim graveyards and cemeteries due to the lack of availability of land. The latest case has emerged from the Daryaganj area of central Delhi, where a large parking was built in the name of Red Fort Tourism in place of an ancient Christian cemetery.
Several existing cemeteries face severe electricity shortage and lack of proper drainage facilities. At the same time, most of Delhi's cemeteries are facing a cash crunch.
The commission has also conducted a study of the cemetery in view of the current situation. A team gathered data related to the church and cemetery and interacted with the church leaders and representatives.
The report puts forward several suggestions including increasing capacity of existing graveyards, construction of new graveyards, retrieval of lost cemeteries and adoption of space-saving method.
The study revealed that there are seven cemeteries all over Delhi including Indian Christian Cemetery, Burari, MCD Christian Cemetery, Dwarka, St. Thomas, Tughlakabad, Mangolpuri, Okhla Cemetery, Christian Cemetery, Bihari Colony and St. John's Cemetery Mehrauli.
While there is no space left for the dead to be buried in Burari, Dwarka and Tughlakabad cemetery, it is suggested to immediately create a new cemetery keeping in mind the need the existing facilities.
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