The funeral of the late veteran Congress leader Oommen Chandy, who passed away at the age of 79 in Bengaluru on Tuesday, July 18, will be held at his home town in Kottayam’s Puthuppally on Thursday. The last rites for Chandy, who was a two-time Chief Minister of Kerala, will begin at his residence and conclude at the St George Orthodox Church in Puthupally. The announcement regarding the funeral was made by Opposition leader VD Satheeshan.
Stating that the decisions regarding the funeral were made in consultation with Oommen Chandy’s family and prominent Congress leaders, Satheeshan said, “His mortal remains will reach Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday afternoon on a special flight from Bengaluru.”
The mortal remains of Oommen Chandy will be airlifted to Thiruvananthapuram from Bengaluru around 11:30 am on Tuesday. Once in Thiruvananthapuram, the remains will be taken to Puthuppally House, his residence in the city, and later to the Durbar Hall in the state Secretariat. By evening, the body will be taken to the St George Orthodox Cathedral in Thiruvananthapuram, where Oommen Chandy used to attend services when in the capital. By 6 pm, the body will be taken to Indira Bhavan, which is the office of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and by night to his Thiruvananthapuram residence.
Around 7 am on Wednesday morning, the cortege carrying his mortal remains will start for Kottayam, where it will be kept for the public to pay respects at the Thirunakkara Ground. By Wednesday night, the body will be taken to his residence in Puthuppally. The funeral will be held at 2 pm on Thursday, at the Puthuppally St George Orthodox Church.
Satheeshan added that any changes in the programme will be announced by Tuesday afternoon.
Chandy died early morning on Tuesday at a private hospital in Bengaluru. He had been fighting cancer for long and was residing at the Bengaluru residence of Karnataka Congress leader TJ George in connection with the treatment. He is survived by his wife Mariamma, children Achu, Maria, and Chandy, and grandchildren.