Uttarakhand govt declares 3-day state mourning following demise of former CM BC Khanduri

The Uttarakhand government declared a three-day state mourning on Tuesday following the demise of former chief minister Major General (Retd) Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri.

The state mourning will remain in effect from May 19 to May 21, according to an official order. The national flag will fly at half-mast on all government buildings across the state during this period.

The state government has cancelled all official programmes for the duration of the mourning.

The last rites of the former chief minister will be performed with full state honours on May 20. All state government offices will remain closed on Wednesday as a mark of respect for the departed leader.

The veteran leader breathed his last at around 11 am, his daughter and Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan said.

Khanduri is survived by his wife Aruna, son Manish, and daughter Ritu Khanduri Bhushan. The former chief minister was suffering from age-related ailments and had to go through frequent hospitalisations.

Before entering politics, Khanduri retired from the Indian Army as a major general. Popularly known as 'General Sahab', he earned a reputation as a disciplined and strict administrator.

Khanduri served as the chief minister of the hill state twice. He first took office in 2007 after the BJP won the assembly polls.

He resigned from the post in 2009, accepting moral responsibility for the party's loss in all five Lok Sabha seats in the state. The BJP reappointed him as the chief minister in 2011.

Khanduri also served as a Union minister. He held the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the Cabinet of the late prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He was credited with executing the Golden Quadrilateral project. The initiative successfully connected the four corners of India via highways.

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