Puducherry, Friday, January 27, 2012: Thousands of people from different walks of life came in droves to pay homage to Kerala Governor MOH Farook, who passed away on Thursday night.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan, KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala and Minister Adoor Prakash paid their last respects to the departed soul.

Farook’s mortal remains have been kept at his ancestral home in Puducherry for the public to pay homage. Farooq will be laid to rest at the Ouppalam Kabarsthan here at 4.30 pm Friday evening. Meanwhile, condoling the death of Farook, Puducherry Chief Minsiter N Rangasamy said it was an irreparable loss not only to Puducherry, but also to the nation.

Recalling the love and affection of Farook had for the people of Puducherry and his efforts for the development of the union territory, Rangasamy expressed his condolences to the bereaved family.

Former Chief Minister V Vaithilingam, PCC President A V Subramanian, N R Congress General Secretary V Bhalan, among others, also condoled the death of Farook.

He died at the Apollo Hospitals where he was undergoing treatment since last month for kidney and other ailments, his son and former Puducherry minister MOHF Shahjahan said. He was 74. Farook, a senior Congress leader and former Puducherry chief minister and MP, is survived by son and two daughters.

Farook was born in Karaikal on September 6, 1937.
He was sworn in as the 19th governor of Kerala last September, prior to which he had occupied the gubernatorial post in Jharkhand.

Farook had served as chief minister of the Union Territory of Puducherry thrice and was a Union minister of state for civil aviation and tourism between 1991 and 1992.

He was elected to Lok Sabha for three terms from 1991 from Puducherry and had also served as Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Farook, who was appointed as Governor of Kerala in August last year, was on leave following his ill health. It was the chief minister who hoisted the national flag at the official Republic Day function in the state capital. Though he had been put on dialysis, his condition worsened and the end came at 2120 hrs.

Condoling his death, Congress President Sonia Gandhi described him as an embodiment of secular ideals and recalled his services to the nation and the party.

(News agency)