Guwahati (Assam) [India], September 21 (ANI): The Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, announced that the last rites of singer Zubeen Garg will be held at the Kamarkuchi village in Sonapur on September 23.
Popular singer Zubeen Garg passed away in a tragic scuba diving accident in Singapore. The singer was rushed to a hospital, where he succumbed in the ICU on Friday afternoon.
The mortal remains of the late singer are currently kept at the Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex for his fans and well-wishers to pay their tributes before his funeral.
After Assam’s Education Minister Dr Ranoj Pegu told the media that they have discussed with singer Garg’s family about the potential cremation site and are awaiting the final confirmation from Assam CM following a cabinet meeting, CM Himanta Biswa Sharma shared the final details of the last rites of Zubeen Garg.
While talking to the media, CM Himanta Sarma said, “We will carry the mortal remains of Zubeen Garg from Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex at around 8 am on September 23 to the location of Kamarkuchi, where the last rites will be conducted. A state funeral will be held on September 23.”
He also announced that the state government will construct a Samadhi Khetra of Zubeen Garg at the last rites site.
“The state government will construct a Samadhi Khetra of Zubeen Garg at that place. The state government has taken a proposal that we will carry the Bhasma of Zubeen Garg to Jorhat, and we will construct a Samadhi Khetra of Zubeen Garg at Jorhat,” said Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Earlier, Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu shared details of the possible cremation site for the late singer Zubeen Garg.
While speaking to the media, Assam’s Education Minister said they are still determining the cremation site for the mortal remains of late singer Zubeen Garg.
However, after the discussions with the singer’s family, Minister Ranoj Pegu said that the family has requested the cremation to be held near Guwahati.
While speaking to the media, Ranoj Pegu said, “Today morning, after the arrival of the singer’s mortal remains at home, we discussed with the family to determine their preferences for cremation. There were two options, Jorhat and Guwahati. We discussed the preferred locations in both places. After the discussion, they requested that it would be convenient for them to organise the cremation in the vicinity of Guwahati. We will report this to the Chief Minister of Assam.”
After Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the singer’s remains would be kept at the Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex in Sarusajai, the fans flocked to the venue to pay their last respects.
One of the fans called the singer’s demise a “great loss for Assam” while paying his last respects.
“He is one of the celebrities who is evergreen. We don’t see such a person coming down the line again. When I was in class 6 or 7, we used to hear his songs. We are going to miss those emotions. It’s a great loss for Assam,” said one of the fans of the singer while speaking to ANI.
After an unexpected turnout at the venue, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the Bogeswar Baruah Stadium will remain open throughout Sunday night, which was earlier slated to be till 7 pm.
Taking to his X handle, CM Sarma said, “More and more people wish to see our beloved Zubeen one last time, and we deeply understand these sentiments. Therefore, Bhogeswar Baruah Stadium will remain open throughout the night today for the public to pay their respects to Zubeen. Tomorrow also, the mortal remains of Zubeen will be kept at Sarusajai for people to offer their homage.”
Meanwhile, the Assam government has announced a three-day state mourning in the wake of the death of singer Zubeen Garg.
The Assam CMO stated that there will be no official entertainment, ceremonial programmes, or public celebrations during this period.
The 52-year-old icon of Assam died in Singapore on Friday after a scuba diving accident. His body was flown to Delhi and later transported to Assam on a commercial flight that landed in Guwahati on Sunday morning.
Known as the cultural icon of Assam, Zubeen Garg was not just a singer but also a composer, music director, actor, and filmmaker. With a career spanning over three decades, he lent his voice to thousands of songs in Assamese, Hindi, Bengali, and several other Indian languages. (ANI)
