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Rediff.com  » News » PM, Sonia among mourners on YSR's final journey

PM, Sonia among mourners on YSR's final journey

By Mohammed Siddique
Last updated on: September 04, 2009 13:37 IST
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Thousands of mourners swarmed Hyderabad on Friday to bid a tearful adieu to late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who was killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, on his final journey to his native Kadapa district.

The body of 60-year-old YSR, the man who revived the Congress party's fortunes in Andhra Pradesh in 2004 after a 10-year hiatus, will be laid to rest in his hometown of Pulivendula in Kadapa at 5 pm on Friday.

All state and central government offices, schools, shops and commercial establishments in Andhra Pradesh were shut, while the national flag will be flown at half-mast during the seven-day state mourning.

The farewell journey 

The last journey began from YSR's house at Begumpet after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and top Congress leaders paid homage and placed wreaths on his body.

Union ministers P Chidambaram, A K Antony, V Veerappa Moily, Prithviraj Chavan, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, besides chief ministers Sheila Dixit, Ashok K Gehlot and several senior politicians of different parties consoled the family of the late chief minister.

A shocked and tired looking Jaganmohan, YSR's on, stood beside the coffin accepting condolences from the visitors. Standing with him was YSR's childhood friend and advisor and Rajya Sabha MP K V P Ramachandra Rao and the new Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah.

Wrapped in tri-colour and kept in a bedecked open army truck, the body was taken first to Gandhi Bhavan -- the state Congress headquarters -- in Nampally in Hyderabad to the chants of 'YSR amar rahe' (May YSR live forever).

Jaganmohan, Ramchandra Rao, Congress MP and former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin were among those who stood near the casket carrying Reddy's mortal remains.

The body was then taken to a packed Lal Bahadur stadium for public homage at about 12 noon, three hours behind schedule. The surging crowds forced the vehicle to move at snail's pace as many along the route were sobbing uncontrollably and trying to get near it.

Ironically, the stadium is where YSR had taken his oath as the chief minister twice -- in May 2004 and May 2009.

Over 2,000 policemen have been posted at the stadium, while metal detectors have been placed at all entry points. Policemen also kept a watch from atop the surrounding buildings.

The body will be flown to YSR family's Idupulapaya estate near Pulivendula on Friday afternoon where YSR's mortal remains will be buried in accordance with the Christian traditions.

Tragic Wednesday

YSR and four others -- the principal secretary of Andhra Pradesh government, his chief security officer and two pilots died when the the twin-engine Bell 430 helicopter they were travelling in crashed on a hill in Nallamala forest ranges in Kurnool district on Wednesday and exploded, a few hours after take off from Hyderabad.

The charred remains of the chopper with the bodies were spotted on the Rudrakonda Hill, about 70 kms east of Kurnool, by IAF helicopters at around 8.30 am on Thursday, nearly 24 hours after it lost contact with the Air Traffic Controller at Bengumpet Airport.

Additonal inputs: PTI

Image: Security personnel and Congress activists escort the army vehicle carrying the body of YSR at Hyderabad airport on Thursday |Photograph: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters

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Mohammed Siddique in Hyderabad
Source: PTI© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.