Mariyam Pitchai laid to rest

TIRUCHY: The body of Minister for Environment and Pollution Control, Minorities Welfare, N Mariyam Pitchai, was laid to rest in the cemetery of Na Mu Mosque in Palakkarai with  State honour and a mammoth funeral procession from his house in Sangiliyandapuram here on Tuesday.Around 11.30 am the body was taken in a procession to Palakkarai Na Mu mosque, accompanied by a large number of public and cadre of various parties. The proccession reached the mosque premises around noon.After the Luhar worship at 1 pm, a special prayer Janasha was conducted and the body was taken to the cemetery adjacent to the mosque around 1.20 pm. Police fired three rounds as a mark of respect to the accompaniment of sombre music. A condolence meeting was organised in which Karur MP M Thambidurai, Tiruchy MP P Kumar, Rajya Sabha MP P Elavarasan, AIADMK MLAs, Ku Pa Krishnan and R Manoharan, DMDK MLA S Senthil Kumar, Urban District Congress Committee president G Jerome Arockia Raj, CPI State Committee member M Selvaraj, CPM District Secretary S Sridhar and others took part.Earlier, in the morning, AISMK President Actor Sarat Kumar paid homage to the mortal remains of the minister at his residence and consoled the family members.  Shops and business establishments remained closed till the end of the funeral.