Vajpayee's ashes brought to Guwahati for immersion in Barak

Four urns containing ashes of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived in Assam today for immersion in Brahmaputra and Barak rivers tomorrow.

State BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass brought the urns from New Delhi to Assam after receiving them from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party national president Amit Shah yesterday at a function.

One of the urns was received by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here and placed on a flower-decked truck before being taken to the BJP state headquarters office at Hengrabari here.

A huge cavalcade, led by police personnel on 40 motorcycles, and followed by the CM, his cabinet colleagues, MPs, MLAs and party workers escorted the truck to Hengrabari.

Tributes were paid to Vajpayee on way to the BJP office at Gauhati University, Dharapur Chariali, Maligaon, Fancy Bazar, G S Road and Ganeshguri.

All four urns have been kept at the state BJP headquarters for people to pay homage to the visionary leader till 8 am tomorrow, Dass told reporters.

The process to immerse the ashes in Guwahati will begin around 1 pm tomorrow, he said.

In Guwahati, the urn will pass through R G Baruah Road, Chandmari and Latasil Playground before reaching Lachit Ghat at Sukleswar, where Sonowal and other BJP leaders will immerse the ashes in the Brahmaputra around 5 pm, the party president said.

Simultaneously, two other urns will be taken to Brahmaputra ghats in Dibrugarh and Dhubri towns, while ashes from the fourth urn will be immersed in Barak river in Silchar, he added.

Sonowal said Vajpayee shared a special bond with Assam and the northeast, contributing to the development of the region.

He urged people to participate in the immersion ceremony tomorrow and pay their homage to the BJP patriarch.

Vajpayee passed away on August 16 in Delhi at the age of 93 following prolonged illness.

The BJP has decided to take out yatras with urns carrying ashes of the party stalwart in all states for immersion in rivers across the country.