Graveyard Shortage Concerns Christian Community
Community demands 119 burial grounds; many existing plots are locked in disputes or are too small
Hyderabad: The Christian graveyards issue, which has been pending for a long, remains unresolved. The existing graveyards are decades old. After the formation of Telangana state, the then government had promised to allocate land parcels dedicated to the burial needs of the Christian community.
Christian leaders had continuously approached the erstwhile BRS minister Koppula Eashwar, who had promised to deliver. However, many of the land parcels that were allotted are either caught in title disputes or are insufficient as per the community’s requirements.
According to David Jude, a Christian leader, “The government promised these burial grounds almost a decade ago. Families in the community are finding it difficult when there are deaths.”
As per the data available from the Telangana Christian Minorities Commission, the land parcels listed by the government are: Land allotted in four places in Sangareddy; two places each in Adilabad, Jagtial, Mancherial, Medak; one place each in Siddipet, Wanaparthy and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri. In addition, land has also been allotted in Medaram, Kesara and Farooqnagar.
Telangana Christian Minorities Commission chairman Deepak John, talking to Deccan Chronicle, said, “The land allotted by the previous government — some of them are not clear and we are contesting the disputes. Some of the land parcels are in insufficient areas, just a few hundred square yards. How can a graveyard meant for a community be so small?”
“We are working with the government so that each constituency in the state should have one Christian graveyard, which would make it 119 in total. And each one should be no less than two to three acres,” he added.
