Former PM Vajpayee’s ashes immersed in Assam’s Brahmaputra, Barak rivers

The ashes of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were on Thursday immersed in the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers in Assam amid vedic chants and rites by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and BJP state president Ranjeet Kumar Dass and other senior party leaders.

The four urns containing ashes of Vajpayee were brought to Assam on Wednesday and immersed in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Dhubri and Silchar. One of the urns immersed by Sonowal in the River Brahmaputra in Guwahati near the Lachit ghat as “Atalji Amar rahe” slogan was raised.

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The urns were handed over to Dass by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party national president Amit Shah at a function in Delhi on August 21. They were placed in the opposite Karbi Field for people to pay tribute to the departed prime minister. The leader passed away on August 16 in Delhi.

The three other urns sent to different parts of the state were also simultaneously immersed with that in Guwahati.

One of the urns was taken to Dibrugarh by Minister Tapan Gogoi, another by minister Bhabesh Kalita to Dhubri for immersion in Brahmaputra flowing across the state, while the third was taken by minister Parimal Suklabaidhya to Silchar for the ashes to be one with the other major river Barak.

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Sonowal said four urns were sent to Assam as Vajpayee had a special bond with the state and Northeast region contributing for their development.

(With inputs from agencies)