The delay was caused by the decision of the government to perform the cremation with police honours, gun shots and ceremonial salute.
Meanwhile, Nimmada, the native village of Yerrannaidu, has turned in to a sea of humanity. There was a 5-km-long traffic jam on the road leading to the village as mourners made a beeline to get a glimpse of the leader who died in a road accident on Friday morning.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy expressed his deep shock and grief over the death of Yerrannaidu. Describing him as a close personal friend, Reddy said that he had worked with him closely on the delimitation of assembly constituencies in the state.
Reddy directed the chief secretary Minnie Mathews to make arrangements for the cremation. Yerrannaidu was an able Parliamentarian and worked hard for the uplift of weaker sections and downtrodden, the chief minister said in his condolence message. Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu, who broke down while laying a wreath, said that it was an irreparable loss for him. "He was a leader of the masses who never cared for the self. He had no personal considerations. He always worked and cared for the party," Naidu said. "Whenever I thought of giving some important responsibility he would be the first person to come to my mind because he was always ready to take up the work," he added.
Yerrannaidu's death cast its shadows on the wedding celebrations of the daughter of transport minister and state Congress president Botsa Satyanarayana in Visakhapatanam on Friday evening. The marriage ceremony was planned on a grand scale and all the bigwigs including the governor ESL Narasimhan and almost the entire cabinet was invited.
