Millions of supporters descend on stadium

The mortal remains of the late chief minister, killed in a copter crash, were kept at the stadium enabling people to pay last homage to their departed leader. His popularity was evident in the outpouring of grief as the funeral cortege snaked its way through surging crowds from Hyderabad to the L B Stadium.

All the way were teeming mourners, lined up along the road, on rooftops  to bid adieu to a politician who introduced several policies to benefit the poor.

A sea of humanity surged in and around the L B stadium, to pay tribute to their beloved leader even as police struggled to control the crowd, including women who jumped the barricades, to reach near the casket in which Reddy’s body was kept and meet his son Jagan Mohan Reddy to console him.

YSR had taken oath as Chief Minister for the first time on May 14, 2004 at the same venue.

Reddy’s body which was brought from Gandhi Bhavan— the state headquarters— to the stadium at around 11:50 am was later taken towards old Begumpet Airport from where it was flown to his native Kadappa district for final rites. Hundreds of vehicles followed the flower-bedecked truck in which the body, draped in the national flag, was kept.