Amritsar: The ashes of 400 people, including 350 Hindus and 50 Sikhs who died since 2011 in Pakistan, were carried by a delegation of Sanatan Dharma which reached the Attari-Wagah border en route to Haridwar for immersion.
Ramnath Maharaj, who led the seven-member delegation, said the ashes will be immersed in the Ganges adhering to Sanatan Dharma and a puja will be performed at Nigambodhi Ghat in Delhi a fortnight before the immersion at the Sati Ghar on February 21.
"Some of the deceased were victims of road accidents, some had natural deaths. There are many children and old martyrs, whose ashes could not reach. They were supposed to float the ashes during the Pitri Shraddha, but we did not get a visa at that time. The government is also appealing for the grant of visas at the right time for the performance of obsequies. This is the third time we brought ashes to India this way. Before this, the ashes of Indians who died in Pakistan were brought and floated in the Ganges," he said.
Maharaj further said he brought the ashes in 2016 and 2011, and this was the third time the visa process should be expedited so that the kin of the deceased wouldn't have to wait for years before immersing the ashes.
Arun Mahal, the protocol officer, said, "On Monday, a delegation of about seven members including children and women, led by Shri Ramnath Maharaj, arrived from Pakistan with about 400 ashes. The families live in Karachi. They arrived through the Attari-Wagah border. From there, they will leave for Haridwar by train from Amritsar."
Mahal added that since 2011, all people who died there due to any disease or other reason, have reached India with their ashes. The ashes are being taken to Haridwar by Ramnath Maharaj, the leader of Nishkam Seva Sanstha, for immersion with full rituals.
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