It was first time in the history that Udaipurites from every nook and corner of the city gave their presence to salute the heroism and patriotism of the brave son of Udaipur – Lt. Archit Verdia, who died when a bunker caught fire in siachen glacier on July 20, 2011. The funeral procession of the martyr which started today at 9:00 AM, from his residence at Machhla Magra Scheme was attended by 35 army officers, 300 Army jawans with cadets of NCC and students of various schools including The Study, Noble International, Guru Nanak public school and Alok school. One thing that was common in the eyes of these people was a sense of pride that the lieutenant gave them by sacrificing his life for the nation. The procession which started at 9:00 am when the army truck carrying the coffin of the martyr arrived, it was followed by another vehicle that carried the mother, sister and the close relatives of the lieutenant. To lead the procession and to give honor to the brave son, The 3 Sikh Light Regiment band played tunes of chivalry and heroism. As the procession started progressing towards the cremation ground, passing through the cardinal points of the city, it was joined in by masses which were eager to give their tributes to the lieutenant. The procession passing through city station-Surajpole-Townhall-Delhi gate-Court Chauraha-Chetak Circle-Ambamata , ended at the cremation ground at Rani Road at 10:30 AM , where the final rites of the lieutenant were performed with full state honor with army men fired shots in the air as a sign of gratitude to the martyr. To have a final glimpse of this hero from the city people didn’t refrained from climbing atop cliffs in the adjoining area and all this for nothing but to give their heart felt thanks to the lieutenant. When Divyanshi Verdia- Archit’s sister was enquired few days before, about her feelings, she replied quite confidently that she is proud of his brother. According to Divyanshi, Archit always used to say- “marte to sabhi hai, magar main is tarah marunga ki saari duniya mujh par naaz karegi “( everybody has to die, but when I will die the world will be proud of me). And not to mention the lieutenant did what he said. Team UT salutes this spirit of patriotism as exemplified by Archit, give tributes to the departed soul and heart felt condolences to the family. Here are the photographs of the funeral procession