Gloom descends on Hyderabad as thousands mourn YSR’s death

HYDERABAD - Hyderabad came to a grinding halt Thursday as thousands poured on to the streets and thronged outside the residence of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to pay their last respects to him.

It was a sea of humanity outside the chief minister’s camp office — which is also his residence — in the upmarket Begumpet area.

They were not just Congress workers and YSR’s admirers, there were also many others who came to pay homage to the leader known as “prajala manshi” or leader of the masses.

A pall of gloom descended on the state capital. Though the city was shut down in view of Ganesh immersion procession, people came out on the streets hearing about YSR’s tragic death in a chopper crash.

The festivities of Ganesh immersion procession gave way to the mourning. Holding pictures of YSR, mourners were seen sitting at the camp office, Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress party headquarters and at the state secretariat.

Slogans of “YSR amar rahey” or “long live YSR” rent the air as the mourners vied wit hone another to get closer to the flower bedecked vehicle carrying the chief minister’s casket from the airport to the camp office.

People, who benefited from various schemes launched by YSR during the last five years, also joined the mourners. They included widow pensioners, poor men and women who got white ration cards and Rajiv Arogyasree cards to get free treatment in corporate hospitals.

Some were not ready to believe that YSR was no more, others were crying inconsolably. There were national flags in the hands of some mourners while others were holding Congress party and black flags.

However, there was disappointment for many as police did not allow them to get closer to the camp office. They were told to pay their last respects at Lal Bahadur Stadium, where the body will be kept for four hours Friday for public homage.

Meanwhile, thousands of Congress supporters from various districts continue to descend on the state capital to pay their last respects to the leader. They included party activists from YSR’s Kadapa district.