Two cemeteries in Patna, shut for 100 years, to reopen

Following demands made by the Christian community, which cited shortage of space for such rituals, the local administration, after a spot survey of the sites, issued no-objection certificates on December 15.

Two British-era cemeteries in Patna, which have remained closed for more than 100 years, will now be opened for burial ceremonies, people aware of the matter said.

The cemetery at Sabzi Bagh. (HT)

Following demands made by the Christian community, which cited shortage of space for such rituals, the local administration, after a spot survey of the sites, issued no-objection certificates on December 15.

One of the cemeteries, located at Ashok Rajpath near Sabzi Bagh in the heart of the city, was opened in 1830 by a bishop from Kolkata. Many eminent British government officials, including Cecil Faulder, the former commissioner of Patna, were buried here.

Though the erstwhile Government of Bengal declared the graveyard as closed in 1875, burials were held here till 1930 as many graves at this ground contain the dates of much later period.

The cemetery at Gurhatta in Patna City has a chequered history. Here, 198 British prisoners have also been lying here for over two centuries. Most of them were killed by Nawab Mir Qasim at Munger while 47 of them were massacred by Qasim’s French commander, Samru (Walter Reinhardt), in Patna on October 5 and October 11,1763. Later, in 1880, the erstwhile Government of Bengal developed an obelisk which contained a plaque carrying names of some of the British prisoners massacred by Mir Qasim.

“But this site too has remained unused for decades. Now, that the district administration has issued a no-objection certificate for burial rituals,” Father James George, secretary, Patna Cemetery Association, said.

From January 2024 onwards, people from the Christian community may use the ground for burial, he added.

A heritage enthusiast from state capital, Syed Shah Monawwar Hassan, said, “Christians were facing a severe crisis of space for burial at Kurji colony in the state capital.” he said.