The skies were clear, but emotions ran thick as the hearse carrying the late former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s body arrived at Thirunakkara Maidanam in the heart of Kottayam city on Thursday. The funeral procession, which started from Thiruvananthapuram at 7.20 am on Wednesday, finally reached Kottayam town around 11 am on Thursday, more than 10 hours behind schedule. It took 28 hours to cover the distance between the capital city and Chandy’s hometown, with thousands of people from all walks of life gathering to catch a final glimpse of the beloved Congress veteran.
Arriving at Thirunakkara Maidanam, a place where Chandy had delivered numerous political rallies, the procession made a brief stop at the District Congress Committee office. The temple town of Thirunakkara remained nearly shut, paying its respects to the departed leader as thousands of emotional Congress workers and supporters gathered to receive the body amid heartfelt slogans.
A multitude of Congress leaders from the state assembled at the Maidanam to bid farewell to Chandy, showcasing that he was one of the biggest crowd-pullers in the party’s history in Kerala. Union Minister of State for IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, represented the Centre and paid his tributes to Chandy at Thirunakkara.
Even CPM leaders, including politburo member M A Baby and Left Democratic Front convener E P Jayarajan, arrived at Thirunakkara to offer their final respects to the Congress stalwart.
From the cultural fraternity, actors Mammootty, former Rajya Sabha member Suresh Gopi, Dileep, and Ramesh Pisharody stood on the stage to receive Chandy’s mortal remains at Thirunakkara.
Congress general secretary in charge of Kerala, Tariq Anwar, was also present at Thirunakkara, while former party president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to attend the funeral at St George Church, Puthuppally, later in the day.
Throughout the town, thousands of people, regardless of their party affiliations, lined up to pay their final respects to the beloved leader, underscoring the impact of Oommen Chandy on the hearts of the people from different parts of the state.
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