5-Tier, Reusable Graves At This Christian Cemetary Fighting Land Shortage

Sixty-four multi-tier, reusable graves have been built at a Christian cemetery in Madhya Pradesh's Indore to tide over a shortage of burial land.

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

"These 64 five-tier graves have been built at the Kanchan Bagh cemetery. The work was completed on July 1. After the bodies are put in the lowest compartment, we will have space for another four bodies. The idea was finalised through consensus after we sought advice from the community for solutions to tackle a shortage of burial land," he said.

The graves are 4.5 feet wide and 6.5 feet long, with 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.

Asked about the sprinkling of soil on the body by families and whether this tradition can be continued with the new multi-tier graves, 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 the burial of 1,000 bodies, he said.

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