Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee takes off on his final journey as huge flexes of the late BJP leader pave the way for the funeral procession of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee to the new BJP headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, the entire Union Cabinet, Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi among others were present at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. At 1pm, the funeral procession will begin from BJP HQ for Smriti Sthal near Rajghat and Vajpayee's cremation will be held at 4pm.
There is massive deployment of police and paramilitary personnel along the entire procession route. The central government has declared a half-day holiday today while some states have declared full-day holiday in view of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's death. Roads to avoid are Krishna Menon Marg, Sunehri Bagh Road, Tughlak Road, Akbar Road, Tees January Marg, Man Singh Road, Bhagwan Dass Road, Shahjahan Road and Sikandara Road.
A seven-day state mourning has been announced by the Centre and the national flag would fly at half-mast from today for seven days across India. The half holiday stands for all central government offices, central public sector undertakings across the country and the Delhi government offices. The West Bengal government has declared a half-day holiday today. In Goa, all government offices, public sector undertakings and educational institutions will also remain closed.
