VISAKHAPATNAM: The family members and relatives have been waiting for the bodies of MVVS Murthi, and his three friends, to arrive at his residence, here since Wednesday. They said that the bodies might reach Vizag by Saturday and the cremation would also be performed on the same day, depending on the time of the body’s arrival.
The family members and friends were planning to perform the cremation at a place adjacent to the GITAM, as it was close to the heart of the departed leader. The representatives of the family have approached the district authorities and submitted a written request to the government for allocation of a suitable site for the cremation.
According to officials, primarily the family members and the officials are considering two sites for the cremation - one is near the ISCON temple and another is very near the GITAM. Majority of the family members and near and dear ones of the departed leader are in favour of the second site, which is very close to GITAM. The concerned revenue officials, along with the family members, however, have visited the two sites on Thursday and inquired about the viability of land allocation.
Official sources said that the government was ready to allocate the place, whichever the family members and relatives wanted and orders would be issued very soon. Meanwhile, the TDP leaders and party cadre are planning to accord a solemn and tearful adieu to their beloved leader. Some have suggested that a memorial park (Smruti Vanam) - ‘MVVS Smruthi Vanam’ - should be developed at the cremation site. Even the former Central minister Killi Krupa Rani, who paid tribute to the departed leader at his Vizag residence on Thursday morning, made an appeal to the government to develop a memorial park in the name of ‘MVVS Murthi Smruthi Vanam’ much like the ‘NTR Park’, developed in Hyderabad near the Tank Bund.
“We are expecting that the chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, along with several cabinet ministers and a large number of party MPs, MLAs, MLCs and other leaders will pay their last respects to the departed leader,” said a party leader. “We are in constant touch with the US friends. They are giving minute-by-minute updates. So far, postmortem process has been completed for all four bodies at the Alaska hospital.