Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave, who died on Thursday, was cremated on Friday morning on the banks of the Narmada river in Bandrabhan in Madhya Pradesh as per his will.
Dave's last journey began from his "Nadi ke Ghar" residence in Bhopal, from where his body, draped in the tricolour, was taken to the banks of the Narmada for the last rites.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, central ministers Uma Bharti, Anant Kumar and Harsh Vardhan, Khandwa MP Nandkumar Singh Chauhan, BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya and senior RSS leaders were among those who paid tributes to the departed soul.
His funeral pyre was lit by his younger brother, Abhay Dave.
Dave in his will, written in 2012, had desired to be cremated in Bandrabhan.
The will also said that no memorial should be erected in his name and the people should rather plant trees.
Bandrabhan is where the late minister used to organise the International River Festival every two years.
Dave's body was brought to Bhopal from Delhi in an Indian Air Force plane on Thursday.
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