Thousands bid tearful adieu to YSR
September 4th, 2009 - 3:40 pm ICT by IBNSHyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Sept 4 (IBNS) Thousands of partymen, admirers, politician, friends, acquaintances and general public have gathered at the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS)Stadium here Friday to pay their last tribute to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader YSR Reddy, who died in an aircrash Wednesday.
The Bell 430 helicopter carrying Reddy, two of his staff and two pilots went missing in pouring rain Wednesday morning over the Naxal and tiger-infested Nalamalla forests and with no contact until early Thursday.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter located the crashed Bell 430 aircraft on top of Serai Salem hill at a distance of 40 nautical miles (74 km) east of Kurnool district Thursday. Andhra CM YSR Reddy, Principal Secretary S Subramanyam, Chief Security Officer ASC Wesley and two pilots - Group Captain SK Bhatia and Captain MS Reddy, died in the air crash.
An IAF helicopter brought Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy’s dead body, along with four others, to Hyderabad Thursday evening from the base camp at Kurnool district.
On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, along with other top leaders, paid homage to YSR at his Begumpet residence.
Television coverage showed Gandhi was all tearful while placing a wreath over the deceased CM.
Union ministers P Chidambaram, A K Antony, V Veerappa Moily, Prithviraj Chavan, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi besides Chief Ministers Sheila Dixit, Ashok K Gehlot and several senior politicians of different parties consoled YSR’s family members including his wife Vijaya Laxmi and son Jagan Mohan.
Embarking on his last journey, YSR’s body wrapped in the Indian flag and kept in a bedecked open army truck, was first taken to Gandhi Bhavan-the state headquarters of Congress, at Nampally, amid ‘YSR Amar Rahe’ slogans from grief-stricken party workers and sobbing admirers.
YSR’s body reached LBS Stadium around 11.30am for public homage. Since then, thousands of people are pouring in to bid final farewell to the ‘mass leader’ .
“Everyone wants to see him (YSR) for the last time…now that he is no more, Andhra Pradesh is orphaned,” said a party worker.
Already, shell-shocked by the sudden demise of their beloved leader, 30 people died in different parts of the state on Thursday.
The funeral of the 60-year-old politician will take place at his birthplace at Pulivendula village in Kadapa district at 5 pm Friday.
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Tags: aircrash, bell 430 helicopter, chavan, chief security officer, congress president sonia gandhi, group captain, indian flag, jagan mohan, kurnool district, lal bahadur shastri, manmohan singh, p chidambaram, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, prithviraj, rahul gandhi, salem hill, sheila dixit, state headquarters, veerappa
