Thackeray’s ashes arrive in city, supporters pay respect

Suuporters of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray in the region, who missed out on paying their last respects to the departed leader will now get a chance to do so. The party has divided his ashes into 100 urns that are being sent to different parts of the country.

Wrapped in a red cloth and enclosed in a glass case, the urn carrying Thackeray's ashes was received at the Chandigarh airport by Shiv Sena members in the city on Wednesday.

The president of the Punjab unit of Shiv Sena, Varinder Bajaj, along with other party workers flew in the ashes on an Indigo flight. The urn will be taken to different parts of Punjab before being immersed in the Ganga on November 23. Thackeray, who passed away on November 17, was cremated the next day.

"It was felt that Bal Thackerayji has supporters and admirers throughout the country. He was a leader of the nation. However, not everyone could go to Mumbai to attend his last rites. This is why the ashes were divided and sent to different cities," city unit president of Shiv Sena, Chander Shekhar, said.

He added: "Care was taken to ensure that the ashes were brought to Chandigarh with complete honour. All rituals were kept in mind."

The urn was taken from Chandigarh to Rajpura where MLA Raj Khurana, along with other BJP councillors and Shiv Sena workers, paid their last respects. Following this, the urn was taken to Patiala where supporters can pay their last tribute on Thursday. From Patiala, the urn will be taken to Ludhiana before being immersed in Haridwar on November 23.

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