MADURAI: The last rites of the two soldiers, Sundarapandi (26) of Pallakapatti and gunner M. Thamothara Kannan (26) of Vellankulam near here, were performed with full military honours on Wednesday.
The two soldiers died in the recent avalanches in Gurez valley and Machil sector of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir. They were rescued, but they died on the way to a hospital in Srinagar, officials said.
The bodies were brought to their homes from New Delhi by flight on Tuesday night. As the news spread, the villagers downed the shutters of shops in the area. Many youths wept uncontrollably and recalled the motivational talks given by Sundarapandi. “He had been instrumental in making as many as 25 youths from our village and neighbouring hamlets join the army and police force,” Ramachandran, an elderly man in the village, said and noted that Sundarapandi had planned to come home as his wife was expected to deliver a baby shortly.
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In the funeral, the State Government was represented by Revenue Minister R.B. Udayakumar. Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao placed wreaths and army officers from Chennai Regiment, Tiruchi and Madurai paid their last respects to the two soldiers at their native places.
The Collector presented a cheque for Rs. 20 lakh, allotted from Kargil Fund, to their families each, a press release issued here said.