Imphal, June 20 (IANS) Hundreds of local people, family members, relatives and senior officials on Friday bid a tearful farewell to 26-year-old Lamnunthem Singson, one of the two Air India crew members from Manipur, who were killed in the horrifying Ahmedabad plane crash on June 12, in the state’s Kangpokpi district.

The mortal remains of Lamnunthem arrived in the hill district late Thursday evening from Ahmedabad via Nagaland’s Dimapur airport. Family sources said that her mortal remains were brought to Kangpokpi, avoiding Manipur’s capital, Imphal, due to the ongoing ethnic tension and security reasons.

In the presence of hundreds of people, including family members and community leaders, the funeral service began on Friday morning, and then her burial took place at the town cemetery at Kangpokpi in the afternoon. Lamnunthem’s body was flown from Ahmedabad to Dimapur in an IndiGo flight on Thursday and received by family members, community representatives, and officials at the airport.

On the way from Dimapur to Kangpokpi by road, the convoy halted several times as people and members from organisations, including Kuki and Naga bodies, bid her farewell and paid tribute to the departed soul.

Born on November 13, 1998, Lamnunthem was the only daughter of her widowed mother, Nemneilhing Singson and the third among four siblings. Her late father, Lienminlun Singson, had passed away a few years ago. Following the ethnic violence that devastated Manipur since May 2023, the family of Lamnunthem, who belonged to the tribal Kuki-Zo community, fled their ancestral home in Imphal’s Old Lambulane area and have since then lived in a rented house in Kangpokpi district.

Facing immense hardships, Lamnunthem emerged as the family’s sole breadwinner. Her eldest brother, Ngamlienthang, is battling a serious medical condition and is under treatment in Guwahati, while her youngest brother, Lenjathang, is still too young to work.

Officials in Imphal said that it has not yet been decided when the body of the other crew member, Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma (20), will be brought back to Imphal. Manipur Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh earlier in a statement, said that the state government has conveyed to both the Tata Group and Air India that it is fully prepared to receive the mortal remains of the two brave crew members at Imphal.

He said that necessary arrangements have been made to ensure that their remains are treated with the highest dignity and respect, and subsequently transported safely to their respective homes. The Chief Secretary said that this is not just the loss of two lives, it is the silencing of dreams, the departure of daughters who brought pride to Manipur, and the extinguishing of two bright lights that once soared among the clouds.

“Their service and spirit would be remembered with honour and reverence,” Singh added.

Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma belonged to the non-tribal Meitei community and hailed from Manipur’s Thoubal district. Earlier, family members of Sharma went to Ahmedabad to complete the necessary formalities for getting the remains of their loved ones.

–IANS

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