Grave situation at Kalpally Burial Ground

BANGALORE: Kalpally Burial Ground is one of the oldest final destinations in Cantonment area in Bangalore. Families from Cox Town, Doddigunta, Maruthisevanagar, Byappanahalli, Thippasandra and Banaswadi prefer this burial ground due to proximity. Lakhs of bodies are either cremated or buried at Kalpally Burial Ground, where there is a facility for cremation of bodies in the traditional method. There are four platforms for this purpose. However, many people prefer electric crematorium to traditional method of cremation. “We received one or two bodies for traditional cremation using firewood. Most opt for electric crematorium,” says a grave digger. As far as amenities such as water, lights and toilets are concerned, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has a lot to do. There is only one borewell at the burial ground. “It was dug more than 20 years ago. There were occasions where the BBMP took more than a week to repair the borewell,” says a visitor attending to cremation rites of his relative.Also, there are 15 families staying on the burial ground premises and they find it tough to fetch water from the only borewell that is situated near the entrance. The BBMP dug a borewell three months ago but the borewell is yet to be fitted with an electric motor to pump water. The BBMP spent a lot of money to provide street lights at the burial ground but conveniently forgot to replace fused bulbs.“We have been staying here for many years. We have requested the BBMP to replace the fused bulbs and equip the borewell with an electric motor. If the BBMP considers our request, it will be of great help to us,” says another grave digger on condition of anonymity.The other major disadvantage is that there is no toilet facility. One can imagine the difficulty of women, let us assume they are diabetics, who come to this burial ground to attend the final rites of their relatives or friends. “It is the right time for the BBMP to construct one or two toilets for women. If there is an emergency, men can attend to their nature calls near the bushes but what can  women do in such situations,” asks Kamalamma from Cox Town.Most parts of this burial ground look like a mini forest area. Allegedly, anti-social activities like gambling and flesh trade occur rampantly. “We have not come across any such activities. However, there are occasions where a few people come here in an inebriated condition. We cannot stop them from coming here,” says Muniraju, who works as a writer at the burial ground.When contacted Satish, Deputy Health Officer, BBMP, had said that cleaning work (clearing weeds and pruning bushes) will be taken up shortly.