Vajpayee’s ashes will be immersed in Ganga at Haridwar

The ashes of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be immersed in Ganga at Haridwar on Sunday. A part of his ashes will also be immersed in rivers across Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Jharkhand, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders announced in the capital. At a press conference here on Saturday, BJP spokesperson Bhupender Yadav said: “The ashes of Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be immersed in Ganga in Haridwar on 19 August. An all religion prayer meeting will follow on 20 August and a similar religious prayer meet will be held in district headquarters across the country.” The Centre has already announced a seven-day state mourning as a mark of respect to the former Prime Minister. During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout India.

The Uttar Pradesh government had announced on Friday that Vajpayee’s ashes will be immersed across every river in the state. The rivers where the ashes will be immersed include Ganga, Yamuna, Tapti, Gomti, Sindhu, and Varuna.

Meanwhile, following the UP government’s announcement, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh governments have also announced that the states will also immerse Vajpayee’s ashes in rivers across their states. Other BJP-ruled states are also likely to follow suit.

“Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ashes will be immersed in the rivers of the state by organising a Kalash Yatra which will move across every district. As per the decision, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ashes will be immersed in the state’s Ganga, Swaranrekha, Damodar, Koel Karo and Kharkai rivers,” a statement of the Jharkhand unit of the BJP reads. Vajpayee was cremated with full state honours at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal here on Friday evening. Thousands of people, including top national and international leaders, joined the final procession and paid tributes to the three-time former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna award recipient.