Tearful Telangana bids farewell to Gaddar

Hyderabad: Thousands of mournful admirers who came to Hyderabad from across the State witnessed the final rites of Gummadi Vittal Rao, popularly known as Balladeer Gaddar on Monday.

Gaddar was buried with full State honours amidst chants of Buddhist mantras by the priests at the family run Mahaboodhi Vidyalaya, Bhoodevinagar in Alwal.

Earlier, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who visited his Alwal residence in the evening, paid homage to the mortal remains. After placing the wreath he consoled the grieving family members along with other Ministers, amid a tight security blanket.

Thousands of admirers took part in the final journey of the revolutionary poet and singer from LB Stadium to Alwal. Artistes performing all along with the funeral procession transformed the entire route into a momentous event in the recent history of the State.

Funeral procession of Gaddar, which began from LB Stadium, passed through Gunpark, Ambedkar Statue, via Tank Bund before it reached Alwal. Following the State government’s decision to perform last rites of with full State honours various government departments, including the police and GHMC made arrangements at LB Stadium for public viewing and for the last journey of Gaddar.

Earlier during the day, thousands of his admirers, scores of political leaders, artistes and cine personalities paid respects to his mortal remains. Amongst the prominent were MAUD Minister K T Rama Rao and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy.

Activists and artistes poured in from across Telangana to have a final glimpse of Gaddar.

Artistes paid homage while singing and dancing presenting different folk forms during the yatra. This according to them was part of the gratitude and mark of respect for the poet's contribution to the Telangana movement. The specially made vehicle with flags representing Buddhism slowly moved towards Alwal.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Terrorism Forum (ATF) questioned the decision to conduct final rites of Gaddar with State honours. Ravinuthala Shashidhar, secretary of ATF, in a statement said that the government’s decision will upset families of martyred policemen. He suggested that the Police Officers’ Association should also seek withdrawal of the decision as this will hit the morale of the police force.