He may have played and cycled on this road countless times. But on Monday, when 24-year-old Indian Army gunner Shashikant Pandey came back to Dhanbad for his final homecoming, the 20km stretch from Barwaddah airstrip to Jealgora was decorated with the Tricolour, flowers and rangoli.
Coal town Dhanbad gave a tearful yet heroic farewell to martyr Shashikant, one of the three Indian soldiers killed in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, on December 17, as his body reached Barwaddah airstrip on a special Indian Air Force chopper at 11.10am.
Tourism minister Amar Bauri received the martyr's body as the state representative along with Sindri MLA Phulchand Mandal, Dhanbad DC A. Dodde, SSP Manoj Ratan Chothe, city SP Anshuman Kumar, rural SP H.P. Jannardhanan, DSP Mukesh Kumar, Sergeant-Major Om Prakash, CRPF 154th Battalion Commandant Nisheeth Kumar, and a team of Sikh Regiment of Indian Army in Ramgarh led by Subedar Surjit Singh.
Congress district president Brajendra Prasad Singh and Federation of Dhanbad Zilla Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Rajesh Gupta were also present on the spot. So was Jharia circle officer Kedarnath Singh who had gone to Ranchi on Sunday to bring the hero's body.
Notables apart, hundreds of people, many with the Tricolour, sat on the boundary wall of Barwaddah airstrip to get a glimpse of the martyr from 9am. There was hardly a dry eye.
An Army lorry decorated with flowers brought the body home, followed by a convoy of vehicles of the army, minister Bauri, the DC, the SSP and others. A large number of security personnel were deputed at the airstrip and on streets.
The body reached the Jealgora house at 1.20pm where Dhanbad MP P.N. Singh consoled Shashikant's father Rajeshwar Pandey, mother Lalita Devi, brother Srikant Pandey and sisters Rinku and Sindhu.
Led by Major S.K. Bahl of the Sikh Regiment, Ramgarh, the army saluted the martyr.
The procession for last rites, with an army escort vehicle and band, left home at 2pm for Mohalbani Ghat on banks of Damodar. Thousands from various parts of Dhanbad - Jealgora, Jorapokhar, Jharia, Sindri, Digwadih, Jamadoba, Sudamdih - spontaneously accompanied the body with flags. A three-gun salute was given to the martyr. Father Rajeshwar performed the last rites.
Chief minister Raghubar Das, in a message to the state, said: "Shashikant Pandey made a supreme sacrifice and he will remain in our memory for serving the nation."
Minister Bauri announced Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia payment to the martyr's family on the behalf of chief minister Das.
Traders voluntarily closed shops till 2pm. Jharia grocer Santosh Sao said: "He laid down his life for our security, can't we sacrifice this much?"
