Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, several ministers and senior officials joined hundreds of people in paying homage to two CRPF jawans from the state, who lost their lives in Pulwama terror attack, after their bodies were flown in here Saturday by a special aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
The government also announced an enhanced ex-gratia to Rs 25 lakh for the families of slain soldiers Prasanna Kumar Sahoo and Manoj Kumar Behera.
Patnaik paid floral tributes after the bodies arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport, where scores of people had converged to offer their last respects to the jawans.
Union Ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha Finance Minister S B Behera, Culture Minister Ashok Panda, Health Minister Pratap Jena, MP Prasanna Patsani, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik, BJP state president Basant Panda, senior CRPF, police and government officials were among those who paid homage at the airport.
The government had on Friday announced Rs 10 lakh as ex-gratia, which was