Graves lie desecrated at the Scottish Church cemetery off Karaya Road. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

There is finally a move to restore the dignity of the dead.

The decrepit state of cemeteries in the city and elsewhere in the state will come under review from Tuesday, following a prod from Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

The West Bengal Minorities Commission will carry out the inspection and suggest ways to preserve the cemeteries wallowing in neglect. Some of these burial grounds were set up as early as in the 18th Century.

The inspection will initially cover five of the six cemeteries in Calcutta and one in Barrackpore, where Lady Canning, wife of India’s first viceroy, was buried.

The move to preserve the cemeteries was initiated early this year, when the governor called Gilian Rosemary Hart, a member of the minority commission and former MLA representing the Anglo-Indian community, to Raj Bhavan and expressed concern over the condition of most of the cemeteries.

He asked Hart to conduct a preliminary study of the cemeteries. The commission’s inspection will be based on Hart’s report.

The five city cemeteries to be inspected are run by the Christian Burial Board. They are the Park Street Cemetery (now closed), Lower Circular Road Cemetery, Scottish Church Cemetery (near Karaya Road), Kidderpore Cemetery and the Tollygunge Cemetery.

The Bhowanipore Cemetery, maintained by the Church of North India, is well-kept.

“The cemeteries house the graves of personalities who shaped our history — like Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Henry Derozio, John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune, Sir William Jones and CF Andrews,” pointed out Hart.

“Unfortunately, the graves are in a state of disrepair,” added Hart. “Criminals enter the burial grounds by scaling the walls at night, break the tombs and take away slabs and head stones. The honourable governor is keen on putting an end to such activities.”

“It has become difficult to identify the graves of Bethune and Michael Madhusudan Dutt in the Lower Circular Road Cemetery, that spans across 33 acres,” said Subhas Chakraborty, secretary of the burial board. “Criminals have taken away slabs bearing inscriptions from the tombs.”

He attributed the lack of upkeep to the “limited manpower and financial resource” of the board.

The board charges Rs 250 for an ordinary (kuchha) burial and Rs 500 for a concrete tomb. “It is not possible to ensure proper upkeep with such limited funds. We had approached various government agencies for help to beautify the cemeteries and boost security, but there has been no response. Our hands are tied.”

He expressed happiness that the governor and the commission “have taken an initiative to restore the cemeteries”.