Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ashes to be immersed in Haridwar today

Former prime ministerAtal Bihari Vajpayee's ashes to be immersed in rivers of Uttar Pradesh starting from Ganga in Haridwar today.

Daughter Namita and granddaughter Niharika arrived at Smriti Sthal in Delhi to collect the ashes which will then be takenPrem ashram and then to Har-Ki-Puri in Haridwar in Uttarakhand by road.

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, along with BJP Chief Amit Shah, will also visit Haridwar today for the immersion ceremony. They will be by accompanied by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra S Rawat and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The procession carrying the former prime minister's ashes will start from the Shanti Kunj Ashram in Haridwar, cover a distance of around five kilometres and reach the Har Ki Pauri ghat for the immersion.

According to the official statement, the gesture is to pay respect and tribute to the grand stature of the magnanimous leader and Bharat Ratna.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee breathed his last on Thursday at Delhi's All India Institute Of Medical Science. He was 93.

According to the official statement released by AIIMS, Vajpayee passed away at 5.05pm on Thursday.

The entire nation mourned the loss as former PM Vajpayee was cremated on Friday at Smriti Sthal in Delhi with full state honours. PM Modi, President Kovind along with other leaders paid their last respects to the former prime minister.

Along with national leaders, a string of foreign dignitaries including King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Sri Lanka's acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella and former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, were also in the national capital to attend Vajpayee's last rites.

Vajpayee, who led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government from 1998 to 2004, was the first-ever member of the BJP to become India's Prime Minister. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour in 2015.