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Atal Bihari Vajpayee farewell: UP govt identifies 40 rivers, tributaries to immerse ashes

Atal Bihari Vajpayee farewell: A government spokesperson said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered immersion of Vajpayee’s ashes in every district as Uttar Pradesh was his “karma bhumi” and every region of the state had a close link with him.

"Rest in Peace Atalji. You achieved more in a single lifetime than most men can dream of." People pay tribute to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow. (Express photo/Vishal Srivastav)
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The Uttar Pradesh government Friday identified 40 rivers and their tributaries spread across 75 districts for the immersion of the ashes of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died on Thursday.

The government said that separate events marking the immersion of ashes will be organised in each of these district so that people from all these areas get an opportunity “to be part of Atal’s last journey”.

“He (Atal) had a major contribution to the state, so the government has decided to give opportunity to people in every district to be part of his last journey. As per the initial programme, an event would be held in each of the 75 districts before his ashes are immersed in the rivers flowing through it,” said Chief Secretary Anoop Chandra Pandey.

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Among the rivers identified are known rivers like Yamuna, which passes through Agra, where Atal was born, Allahabad, Auraiya, Banda, Chitrakoot, Etawah, Fatehpur, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Kanpur Dehat, Mathura, and Saharanpur; Ganga, which passes through Aligarh, Amroha, Bulandshahr, Chandauli, Farukhabad, Fatehpur, Ghazipur, Kannauj, Kanpur Nagar, Kasganj, Kaushambi, Mirzapur, Varanasi and Unnao; and Gomti, which passes through Sultanpur, Varanasi, Sitapur, Lucknow, Lakhimpur Kheri and Jaunpur.

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These apart, Ghaghra, Gandak, Hindon Betwa, Rapti, Son, Rihand, Ramganga, Sayi, Tons, Arind and Karvan are among the identified rivers and tributaries.

A government spokesperson said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered immersion of Vajpayee’s ashes in every district as Uttar Pradesh was his “karma bhumi” and every region of the state had a close link with him.

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Read | UP Cong, BJP to hold meets to pay tribute to former PM Vajpayee

Chief Secretary Pandey told The Indian Express that the government is also finalising the nature of four memorials — in his birthplace, Bateshwar in Agra; in Kanpur, where he pursued higher studies; in Balrampur, from where he was elected to Lok Sabha for the first time and in Lucknow, which he represented five times in Parliament.

“Soon, these memorials would be given final shape. There could be a museum or things associated with him to keep his memories alive,” Pandey said.

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