Train chugs off with over 400 asthis for final rites in Ganges
Urns containing ashes after final rites of people including those who died from complications related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), await immersion due to lockdown, at a crematorium in New Delhi, India, May 6, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo
More than 400 urns containing the ashes of deceased Pakistani Hindus have finally been sent to Wagah border for onward travel to Haridwar in Indian state of Utterkhand where the ashes will be immersed in the sacred Ganges River.
A special train departed from the Cantt Railway Station, carrying the ashes to Wagah, realising a long-standing wish of Pakistani Hindus to perform the final rites of their loved ones according to religious traditions. The ashes had been kept at Sonpuri Shamshan Ghat in Karachi since 2011, awaiting the opportunity for immersion.
Before the departure, a prayer ceremony (Puja) was held in Soldier Bazaar, one of Karachi's oldest neighbourhoods, where a large number of Hindu community members gathered to pay their respects. Speaking at the ceremony, Gaddipati Maharaj Shri Ram Nath of Shri Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple expressed gratitude.