Calcutta will have a new mortuary from Sunday on the premises of the Bhowanipore Cemetery.

The initiative by the Calcutta diocese of the Church of North India will address the need for a mortuary in a city where many youngsters live elsewhere and their families have to wait for a few days for them to return before they can perform the last rites.

The “Abode of Rest” will be equipped to keep eight bodies in a freezer.

The Bhowanipore Cemetery Burial Ground & Mortuary is a unit of the Indian Church Trustees.

The Calcutta diocese has two trusts, the Indian Church Trustees being one of them.

“There is a need in our city for such a facility. As it is a bereaved family is going through a lot and if they have to run around looking for a place to keep the dead it becomes more difficult for them,” Reverand Paritosh Canning, bishop of the Calcutta diocese and chairman of the Indian Church Trustees, said.

“Often, they have to wait for a few days for some member to return to the city who otherwise stays far. This facility is not for Christians alone. It will be open to people of all faith,” the bishop said.

The mortuary was inaugurated on Saturday with a prayer. The services will start from Sunday.

Calcutta Municipal Corporation’s Peace World off Park Circus connector is another such facility to preserve the dead.

The the Calcutta diocese will run the mortuary with 10-odd people to wash the bodies and embalm them. “We don’t intend to do any business. Whatever will be earned will be used to run and maintain the mortuary,” Canning said.