Ludhiana, April 11 Hundreds of mourners on Saturday bid a tearful farewell to the victims of the Uttar Pradesh boat tragedy in Jagraon and Ludhiana, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann attending the cremation and expressing condolences to their families.
As a mark of collective grief and respect, all markets in Jagraon remained closed until the last rites of the pilgrims were performed.
Shopkeepers said that business could not continue when the town's people had returned not with "prasad" from Banke Bihari, but in coffins.
A boat carrying tourists, primarily from Punjab, capsized in the Yamuna in the holy town of Mathura on Friday afternoon. Eleven people have died, four are still missing, and 22 have been rescued, officials said.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and the Dugri area of Ludhiana district.
According to officials, the victims were part of a group of about 120 pilgrims who had left for a four-day trip to Vrindavan in two buses on April 9.
Emotional scenes unfolded when the grieving families received the bodies of their loved ones.
Nasib Chand, a relative of one of the deceased, broke down while speaking. "We sent them for 'darshan', not for this. Who could imagine that a 'yatra' for 'punya' would end in such pain? Our homes were lit with 'diyas' for their safe return. Now we will light their pyres."
The bodies were handed over by teams from the Uttar Pradesh police to their respective family members.
In Jagraon, the remains of Madhur Behl, his mother Kavita Behl, Charanjit, his wife Pinky, and Ishan Kataria were consigned to flames. Mourners gathered in large numbers in Jagraon and paid their last respects.
CM Mann, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring's wife Amrita Warring, Jagraon MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, MLAs Madan Lal Bagga and Ashok Parshar, were prominent leaders who attended the cremation.
The bodies of Rakesh Gulati, his wife Anju Gulati, and Minu Bansal reached the Dugri area of Ludhiana from Vrindavan. They were cremated in the presence of a large number of mourners.
The family of Minu Bansal said her daughter, 20-year-old Dinky Bansal, was still missing and her name did not appear on any list of the pilgrims visiting Vrindavan.
After Minu's cremation, the inconsolable family now turned their attention to Dinky's whereabouts. They were showing the picture of Dinky to the media so that authorities could provide any information about her.
"My younger sister Dinky Bansal is missing. Her name is nowhere in any list. We have no information about her as of now," said Dinky's brother Nikhil Bansal.
Dinky's inconsolable father recalled his last conversation with her on Thursday, when she said that they would return on Monday.
Sapna Hans, a pilgrim from Moga, also lost her life in the tragic incident. She was also part of the group of pilgrims visiting Vrindavan. Her body was brought to her residence in Moga on Saturday.
Pawan Kumar Kataria, a relative of Ishan Kataria (25), who was one of the victims, said all of them left in two buses in good spirits for Vrindavan on Thursday evening.
"Nobody would have ever thought that this tragedy would occur. While sitting on the boat, they were chanting and doing 'kirtan', and suddenly the tragedy struck," said Pawan, who broke into tears.
Jagraon MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, expressing grief over the deaths of pilgrims, said, "Today is a black day for Jagraon as five bodies are being cremated."
Mann said he shared the grief of families who lost their loved ones in the tragic incident and assured them of all possible support in this hour of crisis.
The chief minister said 11 bodies have been recovered so far, and search operations are ongoing for four missing persons.
Amrita Warring said, "We pray that God gives strength to bereaved families to bear the loss of their family members."
A purported video of the devotees on the boat surfaced on social media in which they could be seen chanting 'Radhe Radhe'. The video was said to have been made before the tragedy struck.
On Friday, the Ludhiana administration has set up dedicated control rooms in Ludhiana and Jagraon -- 01624223226 (SDM Jagraon office) and 01612403100 (Deputy Commissioner Office Ludhiana).
