Final journey today

The plans for the state funeral were finalised on Monday after a series of meetings between CPM leaders and senior government officials .

The body will be taken out from Peace Haven mortuary at 7:30 am and will be first taken to the party state headquarters at Alimuddin Street where it will be kept from 8 to 9 in the morning. At 9:30 am,it will be taken to Writers’ Buildings. The next stop will be the state Assembly,from where the final journey will begin to to Moharkunja at Maidan at 3 pm,where the Army will pay a 21-gun salute. Thereafter,the body will be handed over to SSKM hospital. Basu has donated his body for the benefit of medical students.

At the Assembly,while members of the general public will be allowed entry through gate number 2 opposite Eden Gardens,VIPs will enter through gate number 2 opposite Town Hall. To enable people to register their condolences online,the government has,for the first time,created a blog at its official website http://www.wbcm.gov.in where people can post their condolence messages.

The CPM state secretary,Biman Bose,appealed to all to maintain order during the funeral programme. “Jyotibabu was a symbol of discipline and people should keep that in mind while taking part in the funeral procession.”

The party has decided to hold Basu’s memorial service on January 24,with a huge rally at Shahid Minar grounds.