Army Partially Opens Old Cemetery Road; Christians Relieved By SAR NEWS
BELGAUM, Karnataka (SAR NEWS) – In a major relief to the Christian community of Belgaum, the Indian Army authorities partially re-opened the old cemetery road here, September 14. The road, along with the Race Course/Point Road and the Gymkhana Road, was closed by the Army in March this year, supposedly on environmental and security grounds. The Army also planned to use the open ground next to the cemetery as a golf course for its trainees. However, the Christians of Belgaum and a large number of citizens strongly objected to the Army’s move. The defence authorities had opened an alternative road with a gate on the periphery as the access point to the cemetery, which the Christians felt was circuitous and inconvenient. What had shocked the Christians was that the army had decided to close some of the roads, including the old cemetery road, in the Cantonment area of the city despite a Supreme Court ruling of 1998 that they should not be closed. The Christians constantly pleaded with the Army authorities to open the road, but to no avail. Finally, early this year, the community representatives, Bishop Peter Machado of Belgaum, Rev. John William of St. Mary Church, and Rev. Dr. Prabhakar Shadrack, District Superintendent of Methodist Churches, Belgaum, filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court. According to the sources, the PIL was heard on August 29, 2009, by the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, P.D. Dinakaran, and Justice V.G. Sabahit, who issued an interim injunction directing the Army Station Commandant of Belgaum not to erect any fence posts across these roads and “not to alter the character and nature of these roads” leading to the cemetery. The Christian community has expressed satisfaction over the partial opening of the road and hoped it would be opened fully for funeral services. Christians have been burying their dead in this cemetery since the time of the British. The closure of the cemetery gates had also put visitors from India and abroad to inconvenience.
