Last rites of balladeer Gaddar carried out with state honours, KCR consoles family

HYDERABAD: The mortal remains of revolutionary balladeer and poet Gummadi Vithal Rao aka Gaddar were cremated at Mahabodhi Vidyalayam in Alwal an institution founded by Gaddar, on Monday with full State honours.

The funeral procession of Gaddar commenced from LB Stadium and reached Alwal via Gun Park and Secunderabad. Thousands of Gaddar’s fans, poets, and singers paid their respects all along the route.

Chief Minister consoles family

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao paid floral tributes to the departed poet and consoled his family members at his residence in Bhudevi Nagar. The Chief Minister accompanied by Finance Minister T Harish Rao reached out to the grieving family and recalled the service rendered by the revolutionary poet for the cause of the separate State of Telangana.

Earlier at LB Stadium, ministers Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, P Sabita Indra Reddy, A Indrakaran Reddy, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, Congress Legislature Party Leader Bhatti Vikramarka, TPCC Chief A Revanth Reddy, BJP MLA Raghunandan Rao, TSRTC MD VC Sajjnar, former CJI NV Ramana, actors Mohan Babu, Manchu Manoj and Ali offered tributes to the departed soul.

Cremation with State honours

At the Mahabodhi Vidyalam, where the cremation was held with State honours, hundreds waited patiently for the body to arrive all through the day even though the gates of the school were kept closed. Family members of Gaddar made arrangements for his burial as per the Buddhist tradition. Gaddar’s son GV Surya Kiran performed the last rites of his father. As the mortal remains of Gaddar were lowered into the pit, police fired three rounds into the air in respect of the departed balladeer.