Nepali Congress President and former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala was cremated with full state honour this evening at the Pashupati Aryaghat. Tens of thousands of people observed silence as the veteran leader's daughter Sujata lit the funeral pyre at 7.50 pm. A contingent of the Nepal Army gave a 15 canon salute and played the National Anthem in the honour of late Koirala, the country's longest serving prime minister and most revered leader of his generation.Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, CA Chairman Subas Chandra Nembang, Chairman of UCPNMaoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal `Prachanda', CPN-UML president Jhalanath Khanal, ministers, leaders of various political parties, chiefs of constitutional bodies, and high-ranking government officials, among other special dignitaries, attended the funeral. Also present at the Aryaghat were senior leader of India's Bharatiya Janta Party Rajnath Singh and leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist Sitaram Yechuri.
Speaker of the Indian Lower House of Parliament Meira Kumar, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and leader of the Nationalist Congress Party DP Tripathi paid their last respect to the departed leader at the Dasharath Stadium, where his body was kept for friends and well-wishers to pay their tributes. The late leader's body was kept at the national stadium from 8 am to 3 pm before the funeral procession made its way towards the temple of Pashupatinath, followed by thousands of supporters.
General people lined up in thousands all along the way to the Aryaghat. The mourners stood in silence braving the scorching heat to take a last glance of the late leader as the vehicle crawled through the mass carrying the leader's dead body draped with the party flag. As the body arrived at the Aryaghat after hours of slow drive, Sujata offered a handful of holy water to her late father at 7.15 pm. Koirala's body was cremated in the altar number 1 on the banks of the Bagmati river.
The general public were not allowed to sit by the crematorium under security grounds. The duration of paying the last honour was extended to 7 from 6 hours due to the large number of mourners queuing up outside the stadium to pay floral tribute to their lost loved leader. Koirala's body was carried to the NC party office at Sanepa and kept for about 15 minutes before being brought to the stadium. The PM draped the National Flag on the body of late Koirala at the stadium.
An elaborate security arrangement was made to maintain security on the funeral ground. DIG Bigyan Raj Sharma, spokesperson, Nepal Police said around 9,000 security personnel were deployed for the purpose. NC had also mobilised hundreds of youth volunteers to manage the funeral. The police faced a tough time managing the human flood in the stadium, funeral procession and funeral service. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral procession which went through Ratna Park, Bagbazaar, Putalisadak, Dillibazaar, Maitidevi, Old Baneshwor, Battisputali and Gaushala before ending on the banks of Bagmati.
It took four hours for the procession to reach the Aryaghat.
The procession witnessed hundreds of thousands of mourners.
The procession was led by Acting President of Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala, daughter Sujata, senior Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and vice president of NC Ram Chandra Paudel. They waved to thousands of people standing on the roadside and rooftops during the procession.
The mourners also chanted slogans like `Our Girija and our country are dearer than our heart, long live Girijababu, peace and constitution, Girija's campaign'. Thousands of people thronged the Pashupati area to catch a glimpse of Koirala's final rites. The police had to resort to baton charge on the overflowing mass in both the stadium and the Aryaghat. Some were sobbing while others were breaking down in tears. Flowers showered on the vehicle carrying his body.
Speaker of the Indian Lower House of Parliament Meira Kumar, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and leader of the Nationalist Congress Party DP Tripathi paid their last respect to the departed leader at the Dasharath Stadium, where his body was kept for friends and well-wishers to pay their tributes. The late leader's body was kept at the national stadium from 8 am to 3 pm before the funeral procession made its way towards the temple of Pashupatinath, followed by thousands of supporters.
General people lined up in thousands all along the way to the Aryaghat. The mourners stood in silence braving the scorching heat to take a last glance of the late leader as the vehicle crawled through the mass carrying the leader's dead body draped with the party flag. As the body arrived at the Aryaghat after hours of slow drive, Sujata offered a handful of holy water to her late father at 7.15 pm. Koirala's body was cremated in the altar number 1 on the banks of the Bagmati river.
The general public were not allowed to sit by the crematorium under security grounds. The duration of paying the last honour was extended to 7 from 6 hours due to the large number of mourners queuing up outside the stadium to pay floral tribute to their lost loved leader. Koirala's body was carried to the NC party office at Sanepa and kept for about 15 minutes before being brought to the stadium. The PM draped the National Flag on the body of late Koirala at the stadium.
An elaborate security arrangement was made to maintain security on the funeral ground. DIG Bigyan Raj Sharma, spokesperson, Nepal Police said around 9,000 security personnel were deployed for the purpose. NC had also mobilised hundreds of youth volunteers to manage the funeral. The police faced a tough time managing the human flood in the stadium, funeral procession and funeral service. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral procession which went through Ratna Park, Bagbazaar, Putalisadak, Dillibazaar, Maitidevi, Old Baneshwor, Battisputali and Gaushala before ending on the banks of Bagmati.
It took four hours for the procession to reach the Aryaghat.
The procession witnessed hundreds of thousands of mourners.
The procession was led by Acting President of Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala, daughter Sujata, senior Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and vice president of NC Ram Chandra Paudel. They waved to thousands of people standing on the roadside and rooftops during the procession.
The mourners also chanted slogans like `Our Girija and our country are dearer than our heart, long live Girijababu, peace and constitution, Girija's campaign'. Thousands of people thronged the Pashupati area to catch a glimpse of Koirala's final rites. The police had to resort to baton charge on the overflowing mass in both the stadium and the Aryaghat. Some were sobbing while others were breaking down in tears. Flowers showered on the vehicle carrying his body.
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