HUBBALLI: As the sun rose over Hubballi on Friday, hundreds of people started gathering in front of KIMS Hospital. With the tricolour in their hands, they shouted slogans in praise of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad.
‘Hanamanthappa amar rahe, Jai Jawan Jai Kisan, Bharat mata ki jai,’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ reverberated at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hall when his body was lifted by the pallbearers of the Maratha Light Infantry Command.
The final journey of the brave soldier began at 8 am in an open army truck. It reached Nehru Grounds after passing through Vidyanagar, Hosur, Rani Chennamma Circle, and Koppikar Road.
By 6 am, hundreds of mourners had reached Nehru Grounds. People from all walks of life queued up to pay their last respects to the hero who always chose difficult assignments.
The queues swelled by the minute. Some young people displayed Hanamanthappa’s pictures on their bikes and took out a rally.
The tricolour was everywhere. Some people had painted the national colours on their cheeks. School and college students thronged to the stadium and stood quietly in respect. Crowds waited patiently by the roads to get a glimpse of his body. Those close to the procession showered petals as body went by.
“As a mark of respect to him, we want to join the armed forces after our education. His story inspires us,” said a school girl waiting to bid goodbye to the hero who had survived miraculously after an avalanche hit his post in Siachen.
Hanamanthappa’s Final Journey