NELLORE: Thousands of people paid their last respects to Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy at his residence in Dycus Road of Nellore city on Tuesday.
State Ministers including Mekathoti Sucharita, Balineni Srinivasulu, Adimulapu Suresh and K Narayana Swamy, Deputy Speaker Kona Raghupathy, senior IAS and IPS officials including former DGP and APPSC Chairman Gautam Sawang, Poonam Malakondaiah, M Harinarayanan visited Nellore to pay their last respects to Goutham Reddy, who died of a heart attack in Hyderabad on Monday.
Several leaders of the ruling YSRC and other parties, including the opposition TDP, paid their last respects to the departed leader. In the morning, the mortal remains of Goutham was shifted in an Air Force chopper to the Police Parade Grounds in Nellore from Hyderabad. People in large numbers followed the decorated vehicle with mortal remains of Goutham Reddy that was taken out in a procession from the Police Parade Grounds to his residence in Dycus Road.
Arjuna Reddy, son of Goutham Reddy, is expected to reach Nellore by Tuesday night. Several YSRC leaders and cadre in the Atmakur segment broke down seeing the mortal remains of their beloved leader.
Last rites today
The district administration has made all arrangements on MEERITS Engineering College premises in Udayagiri for performing Goutham Reddy’s last rites with State honours. Earlier, family members of Goutham Reddy planned to perform the last rites at their native village Brahmanapalle in Marripadu mandal. Later, they changed the plan.
CM to participate in final rites of Industries Minister
Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy will attend the final rites of the minister. The Chief Minister will start from Gannavaram airport at 10 am and reach Kadapa by 10.45, by flight. Then, he will reach Udayagiri by a chopper at 11.15 am
. He will pay homage to the departed minister and spend half an hour there. The CM then go to Kadapa, from there he will return to Vijayawada by 1 pm, sources said