The last rites of former prime minister and Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala were performed according to Hindu rituals at the Pashupati Aryaghat in Kathmandu on Wednesday. The democracy champion, who played a crucial role in the promulgation of the constitution, was accorded full state honours, as thousands of people attended the veteran leader’s funeral on the bank of the Bagmati river.

Koirala, who was battling chronic bronchitis of late and had a long history of other serious ailments, including cancer, died of pneumonia shortly before 1am on Tuesday.  He was 78.

Koirala, who was elected Nepali Congress president  in 2010, led the party to victory in the second Constituent Assembly elections in 2013.

He served as the 37th prime minister of the country between February 2014 and October 2015. Until recently he was gearing up for the party’s General Convention and was set to run for a second term for party presidency.

A contingent of the Nepal Army offered the 13-gun final salute, as Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli draped Koirala’s body with the national flag before his nephews Atul and Sudhanshu Koirala lit the funeral pyre at 5pm. Earlier, thousands of people, including national and international political leaders, participated in the funeral procession of the late leader.

The funeral procession, with Koirala’s body resting on an Army van, started at 2pm from Dasharath Stadium and traversed through Thapathali, Singha Durbar, Putalisadak, Krishna Pauroti Chowk, Kamalpokhari, Gyaneshwor and Kalopul before reaching the Aryaghat at 4pm.

PM Oli, ministers, Parliament Speaker, chiefs of government bodies, former prime ministers, members of the diplomatic community and contemporary political leaders from various political parties were present when the late Koirala’s mortal remains were consigned to flames.