The mortal remains of former Union Communication Minister and veteran Congress leader Pandit Sukh Ram were consigned to flames at Hanuman Ghat Mandi on Thursday afternoon with state honours.
The funeral pyre was lit by Anil Sharma local MLA, elder son of Pandit Sukh Ram while his younger brother Anup Sharma and other family members joined Anil Sharma in performing the last rites.
A contingent of the police personnel gave him a gun salute and fired in the air as a mark of respect.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur accompanied by his Cabinet colleagues Jalshakti Minister Mahender Singh Thakur, Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Tribal Development Minister Dr. Ram Lal Markanda, Member of Parliament and state BJP President Suresh Kashyap, former CM PK Dhumal, Congress leaders Kaul Singh Thakur, Ram Lal Thakur, District Congress president Prakash Chaudhary among others paid their tributes to the departed leader.
Floral tributes on behalf of AICC president and PCC president Partibha Singh were also offered.
Paying his tributes the CM said, “Pandit Sukh Ram would always be remembered for bringing telecom revolution in the country and for his immense contribution towards development of the state.”
He said, “In the death of Pandit Sukh Ram, the country in general and Himachal in particular has lost a leader who was always full of innovative ideas.”
Earlier, the body of Pandit Sukh Ram, who passed away in AIIMS New Delhi on Tuesday, was brought to Seri Manch from his house, where people paid homage to their leader.
Markets and business establishments in Mandi town and Kotli remained closed as a mark of respect to the departed leader.