Tribals Stage Mock Funeral Over Flyover Ramp Near Sarna Sthal

A section of tribals on Monday took out a symbolic "funeral procession" for all 28 tribal legislators, including chief minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren, Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi, Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth and Ranchi MLA CP Singh, to protest against the construction of a flyover ramp in front of Sarna Sthal at Sirom Toli.

- Raj Kumar

RANCHI: A section of tribals on Monday took out a symbolic "funeral procession" for all 28 tribal legislators, including chief minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren, Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi, Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth and Ranchi MLA CP Singh, to protest against the construction of a flyover ramp in front of Sarna Sthal at Sirom Toli.

The site has been the culminating point for the Sarhul procession from different parts of the state capital since 1961.

According to the tribal leaders, the ramp will cause congestion and create problems for the procession. "There is a high possibility of a stampede due to the ramp construction in front of Sarna Sthal," said Ravi Munda, a tribal leader.

At around 5:40 pm on Monday, the funeral procession carrying symbolic bodies of all the aforementioned legislators reached Albert Ekka Chowk in the heart of the city from Sirom Toli, covering a distance of at least three kilometers on Main Road. Symbolic "last rites" were also performed according to Sarna traditions.