Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, several ministers and senior officials joined hundreds of people in paying homage to two CRPF jawans from the state, who lost their lives in Pulwama terror attack, after their bodies were flown in here Saturday by a special aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
The government also announced an enhanced ex-gratia to Rs 25 lakh for the families of slain soldiers Prasanna Kumar Sahoo and Manoj Kumar Behera.
Patnaik paid floral tributes after the bodies arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport, where scores of people had converged to offer their last respects to the jawans.
Union Ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha Finance Minister S B Behera, Culture Minister Ashok Panda, Health Minister Pratap Jena, MP Prasanna Patsani, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik, BJP state president Basant Panda, senior CRPF, police and government officials were among those who paid homage at the airport.
The government had on Friday announced Rs 10 lakh as ex-gratia, which was
enhanced on Saturday after some criticism. The state government also said that it will bear the education cost of the children of the slain jawans.
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"The martyrs' villages will be made model panchayats and the schools they went to would be named after them," an statement issued by the CMO said.
Later the mortal remains of Prasanna Kumar Sahoo were taken to his native place at Naugaon area in Jagatsinghpur district and the coffin of Manoj Kumar Behera was sent to Ratanpur village in Cuttack district.
People lined up on both sides of the road to bid adieu to the martyrs as the special vehicle carrying their mortal remains moved out of the airport.
The two Union ministers and the state ministers proceeded to the martyrs' villages to attend their funeral, which has been arranged by the administrations of Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack districts.
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