PM to pay homage to Karunakaran in Thrissur

THRISSUR - Security was tightened as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was expected to arrive here Saturday afternoon to pay homage to four-time Kerala chief minister K. Karunakaran who died at the age of 92 two days ago.

Manmohan Singh is to arrive here at around 2 p.m. as opposed to the earlier 11 a.m., Congress leaders said here.

“He was supposed to come around 11 a.m but the programme has been delayed to around 2 p.m.. He will arrive on a special aircraft at Kochi. From there, he will travel by helicopter to a place near here and would then drive down,” a Congress source said.

The Special Protection Group (SPG) has already taken over the Town Hall near here where Karunakaran’s body is placed.

The carriage carrying the Congress veteran’s body arrived here from Thiruvananthapuram at 8 a.m., delayed by over 10 hours as huge crowds gathered even well past midnight on the roads to have a glimpse of the leader.

The cremation is expected to take place at his home near here after 4 p.m.

Karunakaran’s condition deteriorated last week and he was put on the ventilator. His condition improved in a few days but he suffered a stroke Wednesday. He died at 5.30 p.m. Thursday. He is survived by his politician son K. Muraleedharan and daughter Padmaja Venugopal.