Scottish people have set up a heritage trust — the Kolkata Scottish Heritage Trust — for preserving age-old Scottish heritage sites in the city. The move comes after they found the Scottish cemetery on Karaya Road on the eastern fringes of the city with around 1,600 graves in a sorry state.

After its recognition as a heritage site by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), the trust recently carried out a survey in the cemetery.

Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said: “We have recognised the heritage site. The Scots met us. We have provided them with all kinds of help, including technical support. But we cannot start the preservation work now as we have other priorities. Heritage preservation is yet to be listed as a priority,” said Bhattacharya.

The survey by Simpson and Brown Architects with Addyman Archaeology, the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), the Scottish Highlands Council and Manish Chakraborti, a city-based architect, has revealed a very grim picture of the cemetery.

“Tombs of traders, artisans, soldiers, missionaries, colonial administrators and adventurers who were very prominent Scots are around 200 years old. The cemetery, buried as it were, by the modern townscape, lies almost forgotten. According to the survey there are 1,600 graves which are on the verge of decay and destruction,” said Lord Charles Bruce, the chairman of the Kolkata Scottish Heritage Trust.

“We have started raising funds. As of now, we have collected 20,000 pounds for carrying out the survey. We have surveyed 20 per cent of the site. The survey will be in phases as we keep collecting funds. We are also working on a conservation plan for the cemetery,” said Bruce.

He said there would be a major restoration work. At first, the plasters of the cemetery will be peeled off to be replaced with a fresh coat of lime plaster to preserve the monuments.