Village bids farewell to soldier Yashodhar Vaddar

Hangal: The last rites of soldier Yashodhar Vaddar were performed with full honours at Uppunasi village in Hangal taluk of Haveri district on Saturday, with the taluk administration, elected representatives and local leaders paying their final respects.Yashodhara Vaddar 29, a native of Uppunashi village in Hangal taluk, is said to have died while undergoing training with the Indian Navy in Kochi, Keralam. While villagers claimed he was killed after being hit by a bullet during a training exercise, family members said there was no official confirmation regarding the exact circumstances of his death. They said a post-mortem was conducted at the Navy Hospital in Kochi and that his mortal remains were brought to Haveri via Mangaluru on Saturday.

Yashodhara had joined the Indian Navy in 2016 and served in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands before being posted to Kochi for a three-month training programme.Yashodhar’s mortal remains arrived in Uppunasi from Kochi on Saturday morning. A funeral procession was taken out through the village before the body was kept for public homage at the Government Primary School premises.Hundreds of villagers gathered to pay their respects to the soldier. Retired servicemen,elected representatives and officials, along with several public representatives and local leaders, offered floral tributes. Members of the ex-servicemen’s association also paid homage to the deceased soldier.The village witnessed an outpouring of grief as residents gathered in large numbers to bid an emotional farewell to the soldier.