Hundreds pay homage to Rao

HYDERABAD: The body of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao was received at Begumpet Airport on Friday evening with full state honours and lay in state at Jubilee Hall where hundreds of mourners paid homage. The body will remain there till Saturday evening. Rao will be cremated on Saturday on the banks of the Hussain Sagar.
Accompanied by his sons and daughters, the mortal remains of Rao arrived in a special AN 32 aircraft at 5 pm.Governor Sushil Kumar Shinde, chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, chief secretary Mohan Kanda, PCC president K Kesava Rao and several ministers and Congress leaders were present at the airport to receive the body.
The AICC leaders supervised the arrangements made at the airport to receive the body.
Rao''s brothers P V Madhava Rao and P V Manohara Rao were also present at the airport.
Rao''s sons P V Ranga Rao, P V Rajeshwara Rao and P V Prabhakar Rao accompanied the body.
Rao''s three daughters — Vani, Vijaya and Saraswathi — arrived in a special Indian Air Force aircraft.
There was a pall of gloom at the airport which was packed with relatives and well wishers of Rao who came in large numbers to pay their last respects. However, many of them left disappointed as they could not pay their last respects to the departed leader.
Officials had originally planned to keep the body on a specially erected stage at the airport for some time so that visitors, particularly those who had come all the way from Vangara, Rao''s home town, could pay homage at the airport itself, but Rao''s body was taken out to Jubilee Hall because of the delay in arrival.
Rao''s body was taken out in a procession to the Jubilee Hall in a specially decorated army Gun Carrier. A convoy of military vehicles led by two-wheeler borne uniformed soldiers of the army led the cortege.
The chief minister and others took part in the procession, while Kesava Rao and Rao''s sons accompanied the vehicle.
The gun carriage arrived at Jubilee Hall at 6.20, and the body was covered by a national flag by representatives of army, navy and airforce. It took about an hour for the cortege to reach Jubilee Hall and traffic en route went hay wire. Traffic jams were witnessed on Minister Road, Tank Bund and Necklace Road.
At Jubile Hall several relatives broke down on seeing his body.
Daughters of Rao''s younger brothers wept inconsolably at the first glance of their uncle''s body, which was kept in a glass casket. They broke into tears embracing Rao''s elder son Ranga Rao, who stood beside the casket.
An all-faith prayer was held and bhajans were sung.
Among those who paid tributes to Rao in Jubilee hall were governor Sushil Kumar Shinde, chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, AICC leaders Motilal Vora, Ashok Gehlot, Union ministers Prithviraj Chauhan, S Jaipal Reddy, Renuka Chowdary, Panabaka Lakshmi and several state ministers.
Film artists Krishna, Mohan Babu and Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam also paid their respects to the departed leader.