Vajpayee's ashes immersed in the Ganga in Patna

Rich tributes were today paid to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee here and his ashes were immersed in the Ganga in the presence of senior BJP leaders and a large number of party workers and supporters.

The 'asthi kalash yatra' (procession with the urn containing the ashes) began at Sanskiritik Vidyapeeth at Raja Bazar area and culminated at Bhadra ghat where the urn containing the ashes was immersed in the river, party sources said.

Prominent among those who paid tributes to the late BJP patriarch and were present during the immersion of ashes included the Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, state BJP president Nityanand Rai, Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav, state Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav, Patna Mayor Sita Sahu, legislators Nitin Navin, Sanjeev Chaurasia, Arun Sina and hundreds of party workers.

Earlier, the people welcomed with flowers the 'asthi kalash yatra', which was accompanied by a carcade and large number of supporters on motorcycles all along the route charted for it