Rich or poor, the dead deserve a dignified farewell. The Christian Burial Board has set aside a dedicated area in the Lower Circular Road Cemetery for those who cannot afford the cost of a grave, ensuring that the city’s poor and marginalised Christians can be laid to rest with dignity.

“This place will be for the poor or financially marginalised Christians who have no means to bury their loved ones. Those who don’t have family members, whose bodies are brought by neighbours, can be buried here,” said Father Sandip Michael Biswas, a member of the Christian Burial Board. “They won’t be charged anything for the burial. This initiative ensures that everyone receives a respectful end.”

The Christian Burial Board — custodian of the Lower Circular Road Cemetery, South Park Street Cemetery, Tollygunge Cemetery, and St Stephen’s Cemetery in Kidderpore — has named the new initiative Dignity Burial or Shamman Samadhi. It was inaugurated on Friday afternoon by two Sisters from the Missionaries of Charity, in the presence of Trinamool’s Calcutta North MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay.

Many of the requests for such burials are routed through the Missionaries of Charity, whose Sisters work closely with the city’s poor. Families will be required to show a letter from the local councillor as proof of their financial status.

“Instead of families running here and there looking for a place, this provides a dignified solution,” said Father Moloy D’Costa, another member of the Christian Burial Board.

Under normal practice, burials in the cemeteries are allowed when families purchase a grave. “Usually, we allow one plot per family, though larger families may receive two,” said Father Biswas. “But most of our cemeteries are now reaching saturation. The Lower Circular Road Cemetery is completely full.”

A grave, according to Board members, can usually be reused after a minimum of five years. “There are also unclaimed graves, and sometimes, the annual maintenance fee of ₹250 is unpaid,” a member said.

During Friday’s inauguration, MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay announced a grant of ₹20 lakh from his local area development fund to support the interment of the marginalised.

Located at 184 AJC Bose Road, the Lower Circular Road Cemetery, opened in 1840, is the resting place of several iconic figures who helped shape India’s art, culture, and science. They include poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt; Reverend Lal Behari Shah, founder of the country’s first school for the blind; C.F. Andrews, a close associate of M.K. Gandhi; and Haren Mookerjee, the first Bengali governor of Bengal.