• Palanat Panthi.
    Palanat Panthi.
  • Walks to a tap to refill a bucket of water.
    Walks to a tap to refill a bucket of water.
  • Sentimental objects.
    Sentimental objects.
  • Palanat Panthi.
    Palanat Panthi.
  • Reflections.
    Reflections.
  • A young visiting couple arrive carrying balloons to a grave.
    A young visiting couple arrive carrying balloons to a grave.
  • Plants everyday at 4:15pm.
    Plants everyday at 4:15pm.
  • Palanat sits in his room at the cemetery.
    Palanat sits in his room at the cemetery.

Grave tender: the former soldier now caretaker at Jebel Ali’s Christian cemetery


  • English
  • Arabic

Palanat Panthi has been living and working among the Christian dead for the past five years.

Where he lives there is no public transport, no grocery store and hardly any form of social life.

And looming nearby is Jebel Ali’s huge waste-treatment plant.

How he came to be here does not seem to faze him much. He makes more working this job in Dubai than he did as Nepalese soldier back in Kathmandu.

Palanat is the sole caretaker of the Christian Cemetery in Jebel Ali.

For most of the day, he tends to the dead. He digs graves, cleans up the dust and sand that constantly covers older gravestones and rearranges fallen toys or sentimental objects left behind by loved ones.

He then spends most of his working day killing time, watching television or reading in a makeshift, air-conditioned room.

But once a day, about 4.15pm, armed with an orange bucket, he tends to the living.

Palanat does his best to keep what little flora and fauna exists around gravestones alive, despite the odds. Jebel Ali’s industrial smog and infertile desert soil makes it hard for anything to thrive.

At the end of his eight-hour, solitary shift, he walks a brisk two minutes to his accommodation at the Hindu crematorium, which he shares with two Nepali colleagues.

They spend most nights cooking dal baht and passing the time until their next shift.

Once a month, they split a Dh100 taxi fare and head to Bur Dubai to socialise with other members of their community.

Palanat says that recently he buried a premature baby. I ask if the job ever saddens him.

“No,” he says, “It’s difficult, but it is just a job.”

* Razan Alzayani

Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5

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What can you do?

Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses

Seek professional advice from a legal expert

You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor

You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline

In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support

ENGLAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers Henderson, Johnstone, Pickford, Ramsdale

Defenders Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Coady, Godfrey, James, Maguire, Mings, Shaw, Stones, Trippier, Walker, White

Midfielders Bellingham, Henderson, Lingard, Mount, Phillips, Rice, Ward-Prowse

Forwards Calvert-Lewin, Foden, Grealish, Greenwood, Kane, Rashford, Saka, Sancho, Sterling, Watkins 

Match info

Uefa Champions League Group B

Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0

Results

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m, Winner: Zalman, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hisham Al Khalediah II, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Qader, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle

6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Mujeeb, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly

8pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nayslayer, Bernardo Pinheiro, Jaber Ramadhan

Stage result

1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34

2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe

3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers

4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco

5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo

6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team

8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma

9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux

10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate