 |
| A broken statue of an angel at the cemetery. A Telegraph picture |
Siliguri, Feb. 17: A century-old cemetery, where English, Scottish, Irish and Australian people were buried during the British Raj, lies in ruins in Chaibasa, Jalpaiguri. Broken marble blocks covered with dust and dry algae are seen scattered across the graveyard.
Spread over four bighas of land in Rungamuttee Tea Estate, the cemetery has more than 100 graves. Marble blocks and crosses have gone missing and some statues are in a dilapidated condition. A resident said people who believed that the graves contained treasures had opened them.
“Only Europeans were buried here. Even today, Indians are not entombed. Most of them were tea garden officials and their family members. There are some graves of doctors and officers from the army, police and forest departments and their families as well,” said Gopal Chhetri, a resident of Chaibasa.
Although there are no official records to prove how old the cemetery is, there is a grave of Edward Francis Greenway,who died on November 28,1860. This shows that the graveyard is at least 148 years old. What is inscribed on another grave shows that the last person to be buried in the cemetery was Swinton Thomas Agacy of Baradighi Tea Estate, who had died on March 6, 1968.
“Even 6-10 years ago, the cemetery was well maintained,” said Balbir Singh Jass, a social worker of Odlabari. He, along with some residents, have undertaken the task of renovating the cemetery. “Each grave was decorated with sculptures and beautiful marble statues. There were several plants in the graveyard, adding serenity to its beauty. Children and the descendants of those who were buried used to visit the graves at regular intervals and would hold prayers in April every year. After the cemetery became a hunting ground of “treasure seekers”, foreigners stopped visiting it, said Jass.
A portion of the fence around the cemetery was destroyed by a herd of elephants and later repaired.
The management of the tea garden is apparently not interested in the upkeep of the cemetery.
Although the tea company has appointed a 40-year-old woman as the chowkidar of the cemetery, her presence is hardly felt, residents alleged.