Last rites of Gaddar to be held today, several leaders pay last respects

Hyderabad: Several political leaders and eminent personalities paid their last respects to Telangana’s revolutionary balladeer and folk singer Gaddar, who passed away on August 6, Sunday.

Union Minister of Tourism and Culture and Telangana BJP president G. Kishan Reddy, Telangana Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, state ministers A. Indrakaran Reddy, T. Srinivas Yada and E. Dayakar Rao were among the top leaders who paid their respects to Gaddar at Telangana’s LB Stadium.

Veteran actor Mohan Babu, Kinnera player Darshanam Mogulaiah and BJP MLA M. Raghunandan Rao were among those who paid their respects and consoled the family members of Gaddar.

Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan, state minister for industries and information technology K. T. Rama Rao, minister for tribal welfare Satyavathi Rathore, and BRS leader K. Kavitha also visited the LB Stadium to pay their respects.

Gaddar’s body will be brought to Telangana Martyrs’ Memorial Gun Park near Assembly and from there it will be taken in a procession to his residence at Alwal. He will be cremated at Mahaboodhi Vidyalaya set up by Gaddar at Alwal later in the day.

The Telangana government on Sunday night decided to conduct his last rites with state honours in recognition of the sacrifices he made throughout his life and the public service he rendered.

Popular as a people's poet, Gaddar passed away on Sunday, after a brief illness at the age of 77.

Gaddar was known for his revolutionary songs during the 1980s and later during the Telangana statehood agitation.

Gaddar breathed his last at a private hospital, where he was admitted 10 days ago following cardiac arrest. Doctors said he passed away due to lung and urinary problems and advanced age.

With inputs from IANS