Press Trust of India
Kolkata, Sept 21: From his former rivals N Srinivasan and Sharad Pawar to the current BCCI heavyweights, the Indian cricket fraternity bid an emotional farewell Monday to Jagmohan Dalmiya, who was laid to rest with full state honour and gun salute.
The 75-year-old talismanic cricket administrator passed away at 8.45pm Sunday night following a massive cardiac arrest at the BM Birla Heart Research Centre where he was admitted Thursday evening.
India’s top cricket administrators including , BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, ICC chairman Srinivasan, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla, former presidents Sharad Pawar and Shashank Manohar gathered to pay their homage at Eden Gardens, where his body was kept for more than two hours.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, came around 3pm as it was time for the state guard of honour followed by a three-round gun salute by 10 Kolkata Police officials.
Banerjee, former India captain Sourav Ganguly along with state ministers and other CAB officials went to the crematorium to pay their homage as a pall of gloom descended on the city. Dalmiya’s son Avishek and daughter Vaishali performed the last rites by placing the body on the wooden pyre with sandalwood at 4pm.
Dalmiya’s last journey began from his residence at 12.15pm before arriving at his ‘second home’ Eden Gardens around 1pm accompanied by son Avishek, daughter Vaishali and wife Chandralekha and other relatives.
Now a CAB joint secretary, Sourav along with his colleague Subir Ganguly and treasurer accompanied the dignitaries while paying floral tributes to Dalmiya.