Thousands bid Patnaik a tearful farewell

Thousands of people on Wednesday gave a tearful farewell to former Odisha chief minister J.B. Patnaik as his mortal remains were consigned to flames at Puri.

The 89-year-old Congress leader died at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh early Tuesday. The three-time Odisha chief minister who was also former Assam Governor was cremated with full state honours, said family sources.

Patnaik's son Prithvi Ballabh Patnaik performed the last rites and lit the funeral pyre at the Puri Swargadwar at about 8.40 p.m.

Huge crowds thronged the funeral place to pay their last respects to their beloved leader.

A number of political bigwigs including state ministers, legislators, parliamentarians, and senior Congress leaders also paid their last tribute to Patnaik.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, B.K. Hariprasad, leader of opposition Narasingh Mishra, state ministers Devi Prasad Mishra, Pradeep Maharathy and several leaders were present during the funeral.

Earlier in the day, the body of Patnaik was taken out in a procession from his residence to Congress Bhawan and later to the state assembly.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, politicians, academicians, students and journalists were among those who joined in the procession.

Assembly Speaker Niranjan Pujari, Leader of Opposition Mishra, Parliamentary Affairs Minister B.K. Arukh and many legislators offered floral tributes to the departed soul.

Mishra said Odisha lost a great leader and a visionary.

The mortal remains were also taken to Patnaik's native village Rameswar in Khurda district, where thousands of supporters had congregated to have the last glimpse of their beloved leader.

From Rameswar village, the body was taken to Puri for cremation at Swargadwara.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, who arrived at Patnaik's residence in Bhubaneswar, said his death was a great loss to the party and conveyed party president Sonia Gandhi's condolences to Patnaik's family.

-- Indo-Asian News Service

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